The Romanian IT industry: outlines

In 2019, the local IT market exceeded the threshold of 5 billion EURO cumulative turnover, ie 5 times the value it reached in 2003 and double what it reached in 2013. With an annual growth rate of 14.3% the IT industry in Romania now contributes 6% to the country’s GDP, from 0.5%, as it did in 2003, according to ANIS.

Our country ranks 6th in the world in terms of the number of certified IT specialists, per capita, surpassing countries such as Great Britain, Germany or Canada, thanks in large part to the Romanian education system, which focuses on foreign languages ​​and technical skills. Most of the 120,000 IT specialists have very good English communication skills.

However, Romania suffers from a deficit of over 15,400 programmers annually. We supply Europe with the most IT professionals, but the growth potential in the field is still huge.

Where is the missing link?

According to a Brainstorming & Codecool study, 63% of the interviewed companies highlight the quality of the existing talent in the market (level of experience and ability to deliver complex projects) as the main barrier to the company’s growth.

Although the average recruitment time for a software developer is around 2 months, for some highly complex roles (eg PhD Software Engineer) the process can take up to 8 months.

The curricula offered by universities in the field simply does not keep up with the dynamics of the labor market in the field. Educational institutions are aware of discrepancies and the fact that their graduates are not ready for a job, but fail to change their programs of such a nature as to allow better adaptation to existing business needs in the market.

How can we successfully overcome the situation?

The collaboration between outsourcing companies and multinationals can represent for the young graduates a very good opportunity to increase both their know-how and practical experience in the field.

In general, multinationals offer high-complexity projects and, at the same time, training programs that develop their human resources. Outsourcing companies are a very good intermediary between the existing talent in the market and the human resources needs of multinationals.

Six out of ten IT companies have difficulty hiring full-stack developers

According to the same Brainstoriming & Codecool study, six out of ten IT companies have difficulty hiring full-stack developers and five out of ten say they find it very difficult to recruit system architects.

Both roles require experience and a high level of complexity of the programmer’s knowledge, in order to meet the requirements of the projects.

An outsourcing company can be a great incubator for programmers at the beginning of the road. The diversity of projects guaranteeing obtaining the vast experience so sought after in the market.

The specialization and, possibly, the entrepreneurship in a product company come later in the career of a programmer, as he obtains the experience and flexibility of the skills, so necessary in this field.