IT companies says facing lack of specialists in relevant sector in Moldova

Chisinau, 15 November /MOLDPRES/ - The IT sector companies say they are facing lack of qualified specialists in the field, even if they provide high salaries and friendly conditions for work. The companies from the local market are continuously luring people and employers are preparing to employ at least 1,000 specialists each year; this covers only a half of the demand of the labour market.   

Pupils finishing lyceums show interest in the IT specialties; yet, the number of young people graduating from a faculty in this sector is low in Moldova. About 3,800 candidates submitted applications on admission to the Information Technologies and Communications (ITC) specialties at the State University of Moldova in 2017. Only 15 per cent of them continue studying in Moldova, while  the others chose to study other specialists or leave abroad.   

According to the National Association of Companies in the ITC Sector (ATIC), Moldovan students are attracted by the extremely generous supplies of the neighbour countries, such as Romania. Annually, a large number of young people from Moldova go to Romania for university and post-graduate education, due to the facilities they get there.  

The director of an IT company, Eugene Galamaga, said that, if they had enough specialists, local companies would easier manage to attract to Moldova by 50 per cent more IT projects than at present.     

Those about 700 national and multinational ITC companies which came to Moldova try to attract the future employees by competitive salaries, work places according to international standards, flexible work schedule, additional days-off, education programmes.   

„Because of the lack of labour force, we have become more flexible – we get closer to students and pupils, we inform them about the professional abilities and qualities they must have, in order to be employees of an IT company,” the director of an IT company said.    

More companies have recently asked the government to undertake measures to increase the number of places at the specialized faculties and increase the investments in the education in the IT sector. This year, following a request by Prime Minister Pavel Filip, 158 non-demanded places with budgetary financing were re-distributed to specialties from the IT sector of the higher education, degree cycle. About 580 students were admitted to the IT specialties in all in 2018.

The IT industry accounts for seven per cent of Moldova’s Gross Domestic Product. Each fifth company in the IT sector is with foreign capital.