Sunday, October 18, 2015

Technology: The sector where the missing are candidates – Express

“What the Information Technology sector (IT) in Portugal just not full employment because it is the victim of a phenomenon that contradicts all the statistics: it has five to eight thousand unfilled vacancies (studies and public reports vary from this range estimation), because there are no candidates in sufficient numbers and with the necessary skills. ” This is how Patricia Fernandes, Director of Marketing and Communication of Microsoft in Portugal, summarizes the state of employment in a sector whose main challenge to attract, qualify and retain talent. Two days before the start of the last virtual job fair from Portugal to recruit initiative, starting on 19 October and dedicated to the recruitment profiles in the area of ​​IT and engineering, the Express brought together the recruitment of some of the industry in joint reflection on the labor market in the area.

There are vacancies, there is willingness to hire, but an immense difficulty in finding the profiles with the right skills for the requirement of the functions. At Microsoft and Critical Software, the conviction that, despite the quality of training given to them and that has attracted the attention of foreign recruiters on the Portuguese engineers in various specialties, “the education system is not producing professionals skills appropriate to what the labor market needs, “explains Patricia Fernandes, or the amount it needs, enhance Isabel Casaca Martins, director of human resources (HR) Critical Software to whom,” the Portuguese universities, even though they are high quality, have no responsiveness to the sector’s recruitment needs, which are exponential. ”

this equation, the president of the Engineers – Northern Region (OERN), Fernando de Almeida Santos, adds one factor: the removal of Portuguese youth in the area of ​​engineering at the time of integrating higher education . Although the trend away from is to reverse – the slight increase in demand for engineering courses in the last national competition for access to higher education shows it – the president of OERN recognizes that the ‘escape’ of engineering, particularly the most traditional and civil, it is a major concern of the order. Especially as the institution estimates that “over the next five years will be required to leave Portuguese universities between 350-400 civil engineers to meet the needs of the country.” A gap that expands the technological universe.

Between the technique and attitude

For Jose Vilarinho, executive director of Opensoft, except for the period between 2010 and 2012 when the sector suffered a downturn, the evolution trend It indicates a growing dynamic that has been accompanied by an increase in demand for professionals with very specific skills that do not boil down only to the technical knowledge of aspects. “What we look for are software engineers profiles that have the right mix of technical knowledge and soft skills (soft skills),” he explains.

A combination that is not always easy, although some universities already have identified as vital from the perspective of employability of its students. The Faculty of Science and Technology of the New University, for example, has for three years running a new curricular and pedagogical system, where the technical component is crafted simultaneously with behavioral valences, such as communication, time management, ethics ethics and professional or personal presentation. The program focuses each year on a sample of seven thousand students of the institution and according to Fernando Santana, director of the college, “has allowed an increase in the educational attainment of around 10% in addition to the contribution it gives to the best preparation and integration of students in market, “he adds.

Looking fill the gaps identified in the national education system in these matters and respond to the constant needs of updating knowledge that requires sector, several companies have been structuring internal training academies, designed to format the best technicians to the daily practices of the sector and the organization itself. The GFI is an example. Isabel Ribeiro, HR director, predicts for 2016 about 200 new hires, having built this year 143 professionals. “The commitment to training and retraining of professionals is mandatory,” emphasizes emphasizing the importance of Gfi Academy (the company’s training structure) has in the company structure, in a sector where “the upgrading of human capital is critical to minimize problems related to the shortage of certain skills. ”

Where are the opportunities?

application development areas (.Net, Sharepoint, PHP, Java), technical project management and platforms (SAP Basis, Middleware, Virtualization, Storage), but also support, Database administration, usability, programming, software development and many other are positioned among the most dynamic in hiring in a sector where wages, weigh although some areas where it was clear a salary adjustment, remains above the market average. “In some areas such as infrastructure and user support, there were salary adjustments in recent times. But in almost every other, the good people saw their salaries to value, “explains Nuno Martins, director of Decskill technological operations.

A scenario that also Gonçalo Mousinho, executive director of PrimeIT, transform the sector in an attractive career opportunity. “Despite the current economic climate and wage salaries are in stagnant generalized terms, the IT department turns out to be a privileged area, since the average salary remains very attractive compared to other non-technological areas,” explains . In this Maria João Gomes factor, leader of People Culture Sonae’s Information Systems, adds the attractiveness of professional globalization, especially in segments with cybersecurity, one of the most dynamic in recruitment in the company and one that gathers the interest of a growing number professionals.

“The market is absolutely global. People do not even have to ‘come out’, there is a clue in the workplace and its scope has no borders, “he said emphasizing that most of these teams are often” 100% virtual “and work from any location, whether at home, in the company or any other continent.

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