What makes IT and manufacturing investors choose Wroclaw? What makes Wroclaw attractive for future investors? What are their expectations from prospective employees? What do employees think about their companies? The above questions are but a few from the set included in reports on "Human Capital in Wroclaw" regarding IT and manufacturing sectors. According to the data provided, 180 thousand and 12 thousand people work in manufacturing and IT in Lower Silesia, respectively. With employers on the lookout for new employees, the above figures are expected to grow soon.
"Low unemployment rate in Wroclaw and the region turns the local market into a worker's one," says President of the Wroclaw Metropolitan Area Development Agency Dariusz Ostrowski.
"Manufacturing and IT are expected to generate most of the employment opportunities in the region," adds Hays Poland Operations Director Paula Rejmer.
IT in Wroclaw
Wroclaw is home to over 40 small medium-sized and large companies providing a wide array of IT services ranging from technical support to software development. The sector gives jobs to over 12 thousand IT specialists.
"IT is really diverse when it comes to the size. While the average employment rate in IT is 94 people per company, large centres such as IBM Delivery Centre or Nokia Networks have literally thousands of specialists on board. These giants are only one side of the coin because the city is also home to small companies with only 20 employees on board," reads the report on "IT Sector. Human Capital in Wroclaw" by Hays Poland.
According to Hays, human capital, that is access to employees with desired qualifications, remains key in setting up IT businesses in Wroclaw. Web developers are most sought after in the industry. Technical know-how, and familiarity with selected technologies in particular, are those skills that are most desired by prospective employers.
The majority of IT sector employees in Wroclaw graduated from IT (nearly 65%). Mathematical and engineering studies are second in importance (40%). Only 8% of the employees completed business studies, which were often combined with an additional programme of study. The percentage of other graduates (social studies, humanities and life sciences) is only negligible. The majority of IT sector employees (over 52%) work with Java. Other popular programming languages include C++, .NET languages and Python. Ca. 15% of the respondents also use JavaScript.
The largest proportion of the employees landed their jobs with a recommendation from a friend (29% of the respondents). The second most popular method was to search jobs on the Internet and send a suitable application. Recruitment agencies and head-hunters also played their roles in the process, as they account for 8% and 9% of all employees in the sector respectively.
IT specialists look forward to a professional career that is prosperous and well-paid. Almost just as frequent were the following answers "gaining knowledge and competence" and "interesting tasks", which indicates their ambitions and a desire to develop. Around 35% of the respondents say they expect safe and stable employment.
Manufacturing in Wroclaw
The authors emphasise the importance of the manufacturing sector for Lower Silesia's economy. In 2013, manufacturing companies accounted for 28% of the gross added value generated in the region, which boasted over 26 thousand manufacturing plants that gave jobs to nearly 180 thousand employees (according to GUS 2013). Automotive companies play an important role in the sector, especially subsuppliers.
"On average, 75% of all manufacturing workers featured in the study are directly involved in the manufacturing process. Other professional groups include engineers (15%) and office staff (10%). 78% of the companies involved in the study reported the need to take on additional personnel. Those who are most sought after in the industry include machine operators, but it is engineers who are most difficult to find," says Tomasz Kowalski, Hays Poland.
The majority of the companies involved in the study were established at the beginning of the 2000s. Over one-third of all have Polish capital. Over half of all foreign investments are German. The remaining businesses are American, Italian, French, Japanese and Korean. One of the key factors in making a decision to run a manufacturing business in Lower Silesia is that it is well communicated with other regions both in Poland and abroad, particularly with Germany and the Czech Republic, where the majority of manufacturing businesses' partners are located.
