VietNamNet Bridge - Many information technology (IT) firms have decided to focus on developing software for mobile devices, because of its high profits. However, they cannot find enough workers.

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the HCM City Human Resource and Labor Information Center, said that HCM City alone would need 16,200 IT workers every year in the upcoming years, including programmers for mobile devices.

The WeAreSocial website says that 35 percent of the world’s population now use the internet, 26 percent access Facebook, and 93 percent use mobile phones.

ABI Research forecasts that revenue from mobile apps in 2015 would reach $46 billion, an increase of $8.5 billion over 2013. The figure is $1 billion in Vietnam, or twice as much in 2013.

The promising figure has prompted many Vietnamese IT firms to focus on developing mobile apps. 

VNG, VTC Online, Appota, FPT and MeCorp all have set up units specializing in mobile programming. The demand for staff is very high.

Meanwhile, foreign invested enterprises in Vietnam such as Sutrix, Glass-egg, Spiral and Rentracks are also hunting for coders to develop apps and games for Android- , iOS- ,and Windows Phone-based devices.

According to FPT Polytechnic, a new engineering graduate can earn $500-700 a month, while experienced staff can receive up to $1,500. Foreign companies are willing to pay $3,000-5,000 for excellent programmers.

Appota Vietnam says there are about 22 million smartphone and tablet users, but only 14,000 mobile programmers in the country.

Meanwhile, according to Thai Thi Thanh Huyen, director of VTC Academy, a digital content technology firm, Vietnam’s digital industry needs 148,000 workers by 2020, with average revenue per capita expected to be $13,500.

Le Giang Anh, managing director of JOY Entertainment JSC, said that Vietnamese programmers’ ability is at a world-class level. However, because of many reasons, the products do not have high quality.

Ngo Van Toan, deputy general director of Global Cybersoft Vietnam, said his firm plans to increase its workforce by twofold in 2015.

Toan said he especially needs programmers for Google’s Android-based and Apple’s iOS-based mobile devices. However, it has been difficult to recruit qualified workers, both experienced and new graduates.

In general, the successful recruitment rate is just 10-15 percent of total candidates, even though the company provides regular training courses (three months for each project).

Vision Mobile, a technology website, has also found that though mobile programming is a “hot” field, programmers have to compete fiercely to obtain jobs. 

Its report shows that 25 percent of mobile app developers cannot make money, while 64 percent of programmers for Android-based devices earn less than $500 a month.

NLD