Short supply of workers drives IT salaries through the roof

A big gap between the demand and supply for senior developers with management skills drove up the average salary.

According to a recently released report by recruitment network TopDev, the demand for developers rose by 35 per cent in the past year, the highest growth rate ever. Currently, the IT recruitment market is valued at $6 million.

In 2016, most developers in Vietnam were employed. 91 per cent were employed, including full-time, freelancing, and self-employment. Developers are mostly located in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, making up 65 and 30 per cent of the total. 93 per cent of developers in Vietnam are men, 6 per cent are women. The rest claimed different or refused to answer.

In terms of technology, the number of web developers continued to grow at a stable rate. But those with mobile development skills are being increasingly sought after. Skills in Big Data, UX/UI, data analysis, and AI saw higher demand in 2016 and are predicted to be explosively sought after soon.

TopDev’s data showed that the demand for senior developers with start-up skills rose sharply in 2016. Companies look for developers who are not only coding, but have a sufficient range of management skills. As it is difficult to hire senior developers, companies put up very attractive salary and bonus schemes to attract and retain employees.

Most developers in Vietnam earn between VND10 and 25 million ($448-1,120) a month. The highest earners in the IT sector are the Chief Information Officers with VND120 million ($5,380) a month.

Bridge system engineer is the second best paid position. They earn between VND45 and 100 million ($2,000-4,500).

Nevertheless, 15 per cent of developers are ready to change jobs. An additional 63 per cent are not actively looking for something new, but will consider better alternatives.

In 2016, there was a boom in innovation and the number of new companies.

Because new companies aim to gain a competitive edge in technology, it caused hiring in the IT sector to become more difficult.

On average, it takes one month for an employer to find the fitting candidate for a job.

Good developers do not usually look for jobs on Google and job listing sites, so companies often combine many tools, including social media, their professional networks, and increased salary and bonus schemes.

This drives up the cost of human resources. Companies can save on this cost by having diverse and interesting recruitment methods.

Employers now pay more attention to marketing instead of the conventional methods. 55 per cent of employers believe they have to create and maintain a good image to attract candidates.

By maintaining a good brand, companies will receive more applicants, and this database will make it easier to hire for later projects.

Undoubtedly, this is a competitive advantage in the context of mounting competition among IT companies.