site.bta Understaffing Continues to Plague IT Industry

Understaffing Continues to Plague IT Industry

Sofia, November 17 (BTA) - Understaffing continues to be the
worst problem in the IT industry, the chairman of the Bulgarian
Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM), Stamen Kochkov,
told a BTA-hosted news conference here Tuesday. Currently, the
industry employs 15,000 to 20,000, with a need for three times
as many specialists projected within the next five years. The
Association presented the findings of the latest Bulgarian IT
Industry Barometer 2014-2015.

According to the annual survey, carried out among nearly 2,300
software companies, in 2014 the industry's revenues grew by over
 10 per cent, or over 1 billion dollars, for yet another year.
The revenues from exports increased and accounted for 65 per
cent of the overall revenues. In 2016, the software industry is
expected to account for over 2 per cent of GDP.

The gross average monthly salary in the industry stands at 3,358
 leva. In terms of purchasing power it is commensurate with that
 of software developers in the UK. The Association reports a
considerable decrease in the outflow of Bulgarian software
developers and a reverse trend.

In the past three years, more than 3,000 jobs were opened in the
 sector, or nearly 1,000 a year. This growth could be much
higher if the education system finds ways to produce more
skilled employees, said Georgi Zahariev of the Association's
Board of Directors. Around 80 per cent of BASSCOM members expect
 to hire more staff in 2016, 17-18 per cent will retain current
staff numbers and two or three companies plan to downsize.

"Bulgaria could become a prosperous country and we know what has
 to be done, what steps have to be taken and in what time this
transformation can take place but we can't do it on our own,"
said Yavor Djonev, Deputy Chairman of the Association. He
underscored that the involvement of the state and the
universities in the process is crucial.

Djonev said the Association is already implementing two projects
 and the short-term benefits from the first one, Profession:
Developer, will be felt within four years. The project involves
ninth- to twelfth-graders who undergo vocational training
simultaneously with their school education. The aim is to work
as interns for two years, get employed part time in twelfth
grade and then go on to their university studies and work for
the IT industry.

Djonev quoted estimates of the Association that if 25 training
centres are set up in the larger cities across the country, by
2020 some 10 per cent of each year's crop of graduates, or
6,000, will be trained professionals. According to him, this
will solve the understaffing problems experienced by the
industry.

Djonev said that the Association and National Agency for
Vocational Education and Training are implementing a project
that will set the national standards for the profession. The
software industry will invest in the setting forth of the
standards, the curricula, and the training of teachers who will
work at the future training centres. The state is expected to
invest in the centres' infrastructure.

In addition, the government will set forth a strategy to assist
with the training of software developers, of which the project
is part. Djonev voiced a hope that the pilot courses will start
in 2016.

The second project, implemented by the Association, focuses on
maths in pre-school and middle school. A large scale study will
compare the innovative JUMP Math programme and the traditional
methods to teaching maths. The survey will be implemented in
2016 and will serve as basis to future state policies in the
field. Participating will be the Sofia University, the New
Bulgarian University and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The
aim is to not just recruit skilled workers for the IT industry
but produce graduates with universal skills applicable across
industries.