Market update from Antal International - Poland
Table of contents
Artur Skiba gives an overview of recruitment trends the Polish market in the wake of the recession. Things are looking positive for the second half of 2010.
Poland currently stable
The economy and recruitment market in Poland are currently relatively stable. Like a lot of the rest of Europe, the Polish markets are recovering from the global financial crisis and hiring levels remain consistent.
Our last global snapshot from January 2010 showed that around half of organisations were hiring and about the same number were planning to hire over the coming quarter. This mid level of hiring was however coupled with very low levels of letting staff go. Only 15% of companies were firing personnel – one of the lowest levels in the world – and this number was set to drop even further.Salary increase & demand for languages
When it comes to salaries, Poland has seen a 4 to 5% increase for job seekers over the last few months. This can be at least partly attributed to the skill shortages in the area and the difficulty in finding good staff.
As a centre for shared services, from IT to finance, Poland is experiencing a strong demand for people who are University educated but also have language skills and two to three years of professional experience. Scandinavian, Indian and African languages are especially hard to find as is English which is always in such high demand.Growth in IT and manufacturing sectors
In terms of job markets, the IT sector has been experiencing significant growth as many projects which were put on hold during the tough times of 2009 have been given the green light again. Also with Poland preparing to join the Euro Zone the banking sector, a big consumer of IT, needs to recruit more personnel in this area.
Poland is also a centre for the automotive industry, manufacturing car parts. This also took a dip in 2009 but is now picking up and seeing more recruitment activity. Most sectors are experiencing a similar trend and growing in 2010 now that budgets have been approved and confidence is growing.Talent shortage & indecisive jobseekers
Poland is the biggest consumer of EU funds; as its Minister for Regional Development Elżbieta Bieńkowska said herself: "compared to other new EU member states, Poland has made the most efficient use of EU funds". With money from the EU going towards Polish infrastructure, the country needs a range of engineers but is struggling to find them – this is perhaps the biggest talent shortage that the country is currently facing.
Other recruitment issues include the fact that candidates are now taking longer to make decisions about their next role. With more movement in the jobs market, more opportunities and salary increases, it is now the job seekers rather than employers who are spending longer thinking about their employment and which offer to accept.Positive outlook for rest of 2010?
Our next edition of Global Snapshot will be out in the next few weeks and will provide a useful insight into prospects for the Polish market for the months ahead. However there’s no doubt that it will show definite improvements in hiring levels since the last report, and hopefully this positive outlook will continue throughout 2010.
