How the difficult 2022 year ended for the labor market

ayshakhatunasha

We live in a world where the planning horizon has narrowed to the extreme. It is now difficult to make even short-term forecasts, not to mention long-term prospects. In the recent past, companies boldly made plans for three to five years, today the main task is to stay afloat and preserve what we have. This is also reflected in the labor market. But it is not worth painting the situation in only gloomy colors. Experts say that by autumn the labor market has adapted to the current realities: our uncertainty has become our certainty. We talked to the heads of the recruiting agency "Administrative Resource" about what is happening with personnel and hiring.

UNIQUE SITUATION: THERE ARE LESS VACANCIES IN IT THAN CANDIDATES
How the difficult 2022 year ended for the labor market. Photo 1
The most important feature of the outgoing 2022 in the labor market was the outflow of personnel, which affected the IT sector the most.

— Statistics show that this sector has been exhausted: in April-May alone, it lost five and a half thousand people. Those companies that continued to do business in Belarus reduced their staff by an average of 40%, — Alla Isaeva, founder of Administrative Resource, cites figures. — In the first quarter, we observed a mass relocation of IT companies and an outflow of IT specialists abroad. Then this trend stopped, and in the summer and early autumn, some specialists returned to the country. In the autumn, the trend of departure resumed, the autumn wave is connected to some extent with the echo of partial mobilization in Russia and the ongoing reduction in the number of IT companies operating in Belarus.

As a result, a unique situation has developed on the market: there are fewer vacancies in the IT sphere than candidates. Accordingly, specialists hold on to their jobs and accept offers less often.

But, as everywhere, there are exceptions - the IT market is very diverse. Today, Belarus lacks 1C developers. This is the first time in the last 5-10 years. There are few experienced specialists in terms of knowledge of 1C ERP as a top 1C product for medium and large businesses. Beginner programmers do not strive for 1C, more often they choose Python and Data Scientist. SAP and other foreign services have left the market, and the transition from Western systems to the same 1C will take years. This will also require professionals.

— More and more businesses are thinking about automation, remote work is becoming more popular — we predict that the demand for high-level specialists in information security, IT architecture and IT solutions will grow.

At the same time, the outflow of personnel affected not only the IT sector. Foreign companies that left the Belarusian market provided valuable mid- and senior-level specialists with the opportunity to relocate and find employment in one of the company's divisions in Western Europe, the CIS countries, or Central/Middle Asia.

There is an exodus of medical workers and highly qualified specialists who accept offers from employers from abroad. There is a demand in the Asian market for our strong specialists in B2B sales. Representatives of science, education and culture have also relocated to different countries.

IF NOT IT PEOPLE, THEN WHO?
How the difficult 2022 year ended for the labor market. Photo 2
While the need for personnel in the IT sector is not as high as it was before, the crisis has increased demand for other specialties.

With the departure of a certain number of European companies from the market, Belarusian business has focused on developing cooperation with Asian countries (UAE, India, Kazakhstan, China). Now, experts say, in connection with the development of this area, the demand for specialists with knowledge of Chinese and Arabic languages ​​is increasing. Companies value and seek employees with experience in the eastern direction.

In addition, as in 2020, businesses are in great need of logistics specialists, sales managers, marketers, HR managers and directors, financial directors, development directors, and crisis managers.

— The reason is simple, — explains Valentina Likhacheva. — A viable business is like a river: overcoming obstacles, it finds new paths and opportunities for development, and therefore looks for new markets, new directions. Hence the need for certain personnel: we need specialists who will enter new markets, find promising economic partners, create alternative routes for product delivery, and who will be able to calculate risks and choose optimal solutions.

There remains a high demand for highly qualified specialists who quickly adapt and can reach efficiency metrics and benefit the company in the shortest possible time. Now is the time for anti-crisis specialists, whose expert support is very important in times of crisis and uncertainty. True, as a rule, they are employed and are extremely cautious about changing jobs. And in the case of a search, the level of the requested salary is not reduced, which is a deterrent for a number of employers who are currently forced to switch to a savings mode, including the wage fund.



There are also specific requests on the labor virtual phone number service market that specialists have almost never encountered before. For example, a number of international companies, leaving the Belarusian market, sold their businesses or transferred management to local teams. And these teams, in turn, need competent lawyers and HR who will help accompany the process of adaptation and change.

The market has sensed, albeit to a small extent, the government-set trend towards import substitution.

— Recently, we have received several requests from clients developing manufacturing companies in the field of mechanical engineering. We have successfully found R&D specialists for them to work on projects in the field of spare parts and equipment in the companies instead of Western companies that have left the markets, — says Valentina Likhacheva.

In Belarus, employers still need blue-collar jobs. In the total number of vacancies, more than 60% of offers are for blue-collar jobs (salespeople, builders, fitters, welders, CNC operators, etc. ). Both in times of crisis and in times of economic recovery, businesses cannot fully staff their staff with blue-collar workers. The imbalance in the market is due to a decrease in internal migration in the country, the demographic situation: the number of people of active working age up to 29 years old is decreasing every year. In addition, the competencies of workers do not meet the requirements of employers. Thus, there is a lack of combinations of professional expertise and soft skills.