The positions of Software Developer, Engineers, and Technicians are the most challenging to fill.

The first six months of 2023 have shown that recruiters continue to face an increasingly competitive labor market, especially in fields such as IT, Engineering, and Technical. The lack of specialized candidates who meet the criteria for positions in these sectors prolongs the recruitment process significantly, with an average recruitment time of up to 3 months for middle positions or 6 months for senior roles, according to data from the online recruitment platform bestjobs.

In the first half of 2023 alone, nearly 210,000 announcements were posted on bestjobs, of which 27% were jobs in these fields. So far, employers have contacted a total of about half a million candidates through the platform, 30% more than in the first half of the previous year.

“Even in 2023, recruitment continues to pose challenges for employers seeking to fill their teams, and positions in fields such as IT, Engineering, or Technical are among the most difficult to fill. The competition for relevant talents remains a significant challenge, and a prolonged process of finding and then enrolling an employee has operational and financial implications for a company. We have recently seen more and more companies resort to alternative recruitment methods to support their hiring efforts. In this context, we at bestjobs have understood this need and have expanded our portfolio of services to offer employers personalized solutions to facilitate attracting the right talents,” says Ana Vișian, Marketing Manager at bestjobs.

Currently, IT, Engineering, and the Technical sector are among the domains with constant salary increases, recording income growth of over 10% compared to the previous year, according to data recorded in the platform by employers. As such, from discussions with HIRE recruiters, who place candidates in ongoing projects, in IT, an experienced Software Engineer asked for between 2,400 and 2,700 euros net, while an Automation QA Engineer asked for between 1,900 and 2,500 euros net. In Engineering, the desired salaries range from 1,700 to 2,400 euros net for a senior Construction Engineer, 1,500-2,200 euros net for a Design and Tender Engineer, 1,600 to 2,200 euros for a Hydro-technical Network Engineer, and 1,400-2,000 euros for an Electrical Engineer in the renewable energy field. Auto mechanics and technicians can earn between 1,200 and 1,800 euros net, while a Maintenance Electrician reaches an income of 1,300 euros net.

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These roles are even more difficult to fill as candidates have many options, both domestically and abroad. Moreover, the main reason why IT, Engineering, and Technical sectors have the largest specialist deficit is that academic or professional training cannot keep up with the demand, and the current economic conditions pose an additional barrier to recruitment in these fields. However, over 2,400 positions have found their candidate match through HIRE recruitment projects, facilitated by bestjobs for employers who want recruitment support with minimal allocated resources and quick results. The success rate was 92%, with an average delivery time of 23 days, which is 30% shorter than in traditional recruitment.

Since the service’s launch, HIRE recruiters have been involved in finding suitable candidates for various specialist deficit fields, especially for positions such as Security Systems Technician, Technical Advisor, Automation Engineer, Senior Accountant, Sales Engineer, Quality Engineer, Software Developer, Tender Engineer, HR Specialist, Electrician, and Area Sales Manager.