In a recent survey, conducted by Vietnam Works[1] a leading on line job search and recruitment website, it was noted that the demand for employees in the Information Technology (IT) sector has doubled in the last 3 years.
Last year saw 15,000 jobs posted on the Vietnam Works website and whilst Vietnam is considered one of the most affordable for IT outsourced services salaries are starting to rise and a software engineer can expect to earn between US$ 1300 to 2000 a month (and in some cases pus benefits), if they are experienced in latest technologies. Expectations from those surveyed are that salaries will rise between 6 and 20% in 2017.
Much of the growth in demand comes from the growth in big outsourcing companies but also from newly established product development companies.
Ho Chi Minh City was the main tech centre with 53% of the jobs posted being for HCMC and 43% for Hanoi. Programming skills are currently the most sought after qualification.
There is a high expectation amongst employees that the employer will support staff to obtain professional certification and also provide the opportunity to travel and the industry is starting to demand better working conditions and flexible hours.
However, it also seems that many IT professionals are always looking for more money with 40% of those surveyed saying they would job hop if they were offered more money.
Whilst, more and more companies are looking at Vietnam for data centres, call centres, and software development, the number of qualified employees is not keeping pace with demand so salaries and benefits are rising with the increased demand. Those companies willing to invest in training both technical and soft skills and are able to retain their employees will benefit in the longer term from the skill sets., learning ability, and work ethic of the Vietnamese people.
[1] The survey was conducted by Vietnam Works amongst 70 companies and 2400 IT professionals.
