Information technology (IT) companies, especially large-scale software firms, insist their demand for recruiting employees is always high to ensure processing subcontracts in the first quarter while supply is still limited.
According to FPT Software, the largest software enterprise in Vietnam, the firm has about 4,000 workers and plans to additionally employ some 9,000 people from now to 2015.
In 2012 alone, labor demand of FPT Software had surged around 40-50% against the preceding year, with an average of 100-120 workers monthly recruited by the company.
Hoang Nam Tien, chairman of FPT Software, said his enterprise has set the target of achieving over US$100 million in sales this year. Therefore, he said, the entity plans to employ 2,000-2,500 more as software engineers, project administrators, bridging engineers and Japanese translators and interpreters.
Labor demand at other firms like TMA, LogiGear, Global CyberSoft and Havey Nash is also rising given their increasing processing subcontracts. Data compiled from software enterprises shows that the industry needs to employ 8,000-10,000 laborers annually.
Despite the huge demand, most members in the industry find it difficult to find qualified workers, which is ascribable to a shortfall of labor supply plus low quality manpower.
A report of the HCMC Center for Manpower Forecast and Labor Market Information announced last month indicates that the 2013 IT industry’s labor demand marks up by up to 66.2% against 2011. The demand focuses on programmers, system engineers, hardware engineers, testers, software developers and web and mobile programmers, of which local supply only satisfies 70%.
Chu Tien Dung, chairman of the HCMC Computer Association, noted that the IT industry will have to face labor shortages from 2015. It is worrying that the IT sector has become unattractive to students, with fewer students adopting IT major, he said.
Statistics of the association shows that revenue of private vocational schools such as Aptech and NITT has been shrinking over the past three years while public schools have only enrolled 80% of students compared to their targets.
The fact that the IT industry is having difficulty luring workers has resulted from its unattractive working conditions including low salaries, Dung added.
The Saigon Times Daily
