Vietnam to face shortage of 500,000 IT professionals by 2020

If the growth of labor supply is not improved, Vietnam would face an annual shortage of some 78,000 IT professionals in the next five years, according to a new report.

Online recruitment company VietnamWorks said that the labor supply in the industry grew only 8% a year in the last three years, much lower than the 47% annual increase in the number of new jobs. 

If this situation continues, Vietnam will face a serious lack of IT talents in the coming years, said the report released recently.

Compared to 2012, the number of IT companies has increased 69%. Software companies, in specific, has increased 124%.

Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are among the top 20 best destinations for outsourcing services in IT.
Tholons, an advisory firm for global outsourcing and research, ranked Ho Chi Minh City 17th and Hanoi 22nd in the top 100 outsourcing destinations for 2015.
Paul Espinas, VietnamWorks’ director of marketing, said Vietnam needs to focus on improving foreign language skills for IT professionals.

Outsourcing services require good communication in foreign languages such as English or Japanese, especially in the context that Vietnam will participate into the ASEAN Economic Community and the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Local IT professionals also need to improve their soft skills, especially those on communication, leadership, and time management. Technology update should be integrated into academic curricula nationwide, he said. 
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