Labor market trends in the IT sector

ayshakhatunasha

More and more factors have had a strong impact on the labor market and society as a whole in recent years. Many professions have "mutated" in the good sense of the word, and the education sector has proven unviable in the context of the pandemic and has been virtually destroyed. The labor market has transformed, and this has become especially noticeable in the IT sector. It is in this area that new opportunities have opened up, in particular a hybrid work schedule, or even remote work, a sharp increase in salaries even for entry-level specialists, attractive bonuses and benefits, as well as career growth prospects.

Catalysts of global change
The whole of humanity has had a difficult few years. Many factors have caused serious changes in our country and in general around the world. The main trends of the labor market in the IT sphere.

1. The coronavirus pandemic. There is no one in the world who has not been affected by this issue, and for some, life has been divided into “before” and “after”. As for the labor market, many professions that previously did not offer employees any other way to work except in the office have tried remote work. The effect has exceeded all expectations. For some, this has become an opportunity to save money, while others have switched to a hybrid format of labor relations: the employee spends part of the time in the office and part at home. Managers previously feared that such a format would reduce efficiency, but statistics have shown that this is not the case. If we talk about numbers, only 21% of employees who went remote returned to the office.

The coronavirus pandemic has played a major role in the labor market
It is also worth noting that since the remote format of work interaction has proven itself well, many specialists no longer want to return to offices and waste personal time on the road. That is why qualified employees have become more willing to change jobs to those where they are ready to offer comfortable conditions.

2. Increasing share of digital in trade. Online sales are gradually replacing offline stores and markets, leaving this niche only for consumer goods and products. The pandemic has also left its mark. For some companies, digital marketing has become the only way to sell their product, and new trends dictate the need to attract IT specialists to their business. Now even companies far from Internet technologies have their own IT departments. The trend of automation and digitalization of processes is constantly growing and, according to experts, the apogee has not yet been reached.

For some Belarusian companies, digital marketing has become a new direction that has completely changed their approach to business. And the allocation of IT as a separate full-fledged and incredibly important direction. The usual mechanisms stopped working and companies with the most flexible and talented management not only adapted to the new realities and minimized losses, but even on the contrary, developed and found sources for making a profit from new channels.

Digital development in trade continues
3. Improving communication tools. In recent years, CRM systems have been widely implemented in large companies, allowing for the improvement and simplification of internal communications. The same applies to the implementation of KPI systems for employees, which allow for the minimization of the necessary control by management. This, in turn, also has a positive effect on the possibility of remote work for technical specialists and, in general, line employees of any type. In addition to ready-made solutions in the matter of choosing a CRM, you will have the opportunity, with the efforts of IT specialists, to develop a unique CRM system for any business, that is, taking into account all technological and communication processes and connections.

4. Crisis in the labor market. The country's internal problems could not but affect the labor market. In recent years, we can observe the relocation of IT companies virtual phone number service from the country: full or partial, also associated with an increase in taxes for IT companies. In addition, there are difficulties in recruiting IT specialists due to the outflow of qualified personnel from the country.

Relocation of IT specialists from the country
Speaking about the trends of the IT labor market, HR specialists, for their part, could observe how even before the pandemic, the IT market was relatively stable, but as soon as new trends became clear, the demand for specialists increased sharply. In the second half of 2020, having come to terms with the current realities (covid and remote work), the IT labor market began to recover and is still growing. This is what influenced the natural growth of salaries in this segment. It should also be noted here that the possibility of remote work allowed recruiters to expand the search, since specialists from other cities became available on condition of remote work, but this, rather, helped the capital and large cities, where companies can afford salaries for employees significantly higher than the provincial level. But again, many specialists, thanks to new opportunities, moved to work in foreign companies, while remaining residents of the republic.

5. Displacement of some professions from the labor market. Technological progress does not stand still, and we feel its rapid development quite strongly, including in the IT labor market. Due to the decline in offline sales in almost all areas, the need for classic salespeople will soon decrease sharply. Perhaps this profession will be transformed into a remote order operator and will be associated with online sales, but they will not require the involvement of such a large number of workers. Automation of processes is also impossible without the work of IT specialists, since it is the products of their activities that can replace human resources.

What professions may disappear?

Self-service checkouts are appearing everywhere in supermarkets, which will gradually replace cashiers as a personnel unit, and this is a huge number of people within the country. The same applies to the optimization, automation and digitalization of production processes, which will leave many specialists simply without work.



The conclusion is obvious. People who will lose not just their jobs, but, in principle, the opportunity to work in their usual position, will look for alternative ways. Some of them will migrate to some extent to the IT sphere, having mastered new skills.

6. Development of online education. Traditional higher and secondary specialized education have not shown their best side during the pandemic. This is exactly the area where remote learning could not save the situation, and because of this, the level of education and knowledge gained has somewhat decreased. But a new precedent has emerged, namely, mass online learning. As for IT specialties, this is an excellent option that can provide specialized education to everyone, while overcoming the territorial crisis and giving people from remote villages and provincial towns the opportunity to study.