BEING PART OF THE IT REVOLUTION

Today Bulgaria is known as a leader in the information technology field for Southeastern Europe, and the sector is among the key ones to the Bulgarian economy. Back in 2000, the picture looked quite different, good specialists were few and big companies were just entering the market. In such a moment Snezhana Raykinska embarked on a bold venture and founded Bulwork – the first specialised IT recruitment agency in Bulgaria. 22 years later the company has developed the biggest personal network of qualified professionals in the country, operates in offices in Sofia, Plovdiv, and Yambol, and part of its activities are carried out in Germany.

How does it feel to be a pioneer in business?

In 2000, we had the competitive advantage to be the first and to meet the demand of big companies. Back then we didn’t have professional networking platforms like LinkedIn and we had to take their role. We’ve built the centres of Hewlett Packard Global Delivery and of Sutherland Global Services who were considering to go to Romania but we convinced them to stay here. We have blazed a trail for the IT industry to be recognised as an economic sector of high added value.

Was it difficult at the start?

The profession itself was not so popular – being a technical person, dealing with software, with system support was not very common. Back then candidates were few and requirements were high. On the other hand, those who were working in IT and had chosen this carreer path were incredible minds, people who had graduated in mathematics, computer science, physics. The level was extremely high. Today technology itself is much easier, now everyone can study IT.

What does the market look like today?

The market is commercialising, there are more people in the industry, and IT specialist is the most modern and the most mainstream profession. This process started from the Western world, from the big corporations in the USA and Western Europe and it has led to a point where technology is much easier to use, and it is much easier for people to learn and develop new things. The world has become more digitalised also because of the Covid-19 crisis. We are shifting to a digital society in which everything will happen much faster and more efficiently thanks to technology. The pandemic is certainly not pleasant, but it has made us start thinking in a different direction, and working online. It has developed the sector a lot.

Where is Bulgaria in this process?

The great thing about Bulgaria is that many people want to take up the profession. We are a small country with a very small population, but with a large percentage of people who work or are willing to work in the sector. We are talking about 75,000 -100,000 people. Yet, unfortunately, we have a big problem – a demographic crisis, which has started a long time ago. We had a population of 9 million that has shrunk to 6, and we have lost labour force equal to 1.5 million people. The trend is going downwards. If we want to reverse the curve, we need to import half a million working people. This is possible to happen if these people are provided with the option to get a work permit fast, citizenship in five years, and immediate citizenship for their Bulgaria-born children, as it is in Germany. Additional measures should be taken to stimulate a higher birth rate. The problem is that Western investors are already aware of this trend and it is hard now to attract a company willing to open a 5,000 employee IT hub. Big companies go to Greece – Microsoft, Facebook, and Google. And Greece doesn’t have the technological potential of Bulgaria. As Bulgarians, we have a predisposition to learn things related to mathematics and technical sciences.

High salaries make the IT sector especially attractive. Do you expect them to grow further?

There is a lot of speculation about salaries, one is that they will grow a lot as a result of inflation. We forecast that there will be a slight growth. For people with 2-3 years of experience wages will grow, for people with 10+ years of experience we shouldn’t expect significant growth in Bulgaria. The normal salaries in the sector range between 4,500 BGN and 10,000 BGN gross, it depends on who is doing what. And if the golden mean is 6,000-6,500 gross, then we should not pass it very abruptly. The truth is that the net salaries for some IT professions are higher in Sofia than in Berlin. We have this paradox. Overall, we expect 5-10 percent growth in the sector. At the moment software companies are challenged in keeping their employees. People in the IT sector receive from 5 to 10 job offers daily and the battle for everyone is fierce. This is why companies are doing everything to keep their employees. It is very important that people feel valued and satisfied in their workplace. They should be given targets to meet but also to feel motivated to do so.

In what direction has the industry headed?

The situation is dynamic. Bulgaria is a preferred destination as an opportunity to build an IT hub, it has the right people and an excellent price-quality ratio. We have security as an EU member state and that brings a lot of positives, we have financial stability. If there is no military conflict or some kind of upheaval, the industry will develop well.

What are the professions of the future?

Certain professions such as front desk officers and cashiers will disappear in time because processes will be automated. People will need to be flexible, retrain, develop digital skills. As for the professions of the future in the IT sector, they will be related to network maintenance, new software development, artificial intelligence. We expect a boom in smart applications and this will require people with relevant skills such as Machine learning specialists, Data engineers, etc.

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