IT skills, STEM degree and fluency in English: How COVID-crisis has reshaped Ukrainian labour market
Thanks to lockdowns, businesses learned to optimise costs. Companies are now open to digital solutions that replace employees whose work can be algorithmised. As a result, a cluster of office workers may become at risk.
This column was originally published on Forbes Ukraine on September 17, 2021.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute, in the next ten years, around 15% of all jobs (or 400 million) may disappear globally due to digitalisation — pre-pandemic estimates.
Professional re-skilling will be essential to remain competitive in the labour market. How to prepare for the future of work today?
In a recent CES study, we scanned more than 800 thousand current vacancies for white collars in Ukraine and spoke with HR specialists. That’s what we have learned.
We recommend that office workers move into programming, business intelligence, and data analytics early in their careers; mid-career professionals — to project and product management, according to their field of expertise. Specialists aged 50+ should consider moving to customer support (call centre operators, online support consultants).
The COVID-crisis has reshaped the world of work. Document circulation is becoming automatic, sales and services are going online. Administrators, secretaries, auditors, accountants, lawyers, travel agents, realtors, financial analysts and mid-level managers are at risk.
Mix of field expertise and IT skills
Accelerated automatisation due to COVID does not imply immediately that, e.g. accountants will disappear from the market. The role is being transformed content-wise, and companies are increasingly looking for cross-industrial expertise and multifunctionality. The most popular sought-for competence is a combination of field knowledge and IT skills.
“We had an interesting case when the company was looking for a person with expertise in banking risks and strong programming skills in Python,”Alesya Kondratyuk, HR specialist, OSTROVSKA Talent Acquisition.
Little can be added about the growing role of IT skills: the Ukrainian IT sector is considered the most promising both in terms of value-added and compensation levels. What we find particularly insightful in the data is that IT professionals and non-tech staff for IT projects — from project managers to recruiters — are sought for across all industries, from pharma to agriculture.
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“The major personal quality we look for in candidates is the demonstrated willingness to learn. We recently hired a former psychologist as a data analyst with no experience, and this is a success story, ” Yulia Pylypenko, HR Director, Raiffeisen Bank.
For example, with the transition of financial services to smartphones, banks are closing physical branches and hire fewer economists, cashiers, financial analysts.
“To carry out the digital transformation of our business, we hire developers, system architects, QA engineers, data analysts, scrum masters, product managers. Today, banks compete with the IT sector for specialists, ” Yulia Pylypenko, HR Director, Raiffeisen Bank.
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“To develop innovative products in green energy, we hire IT professionals and developers,” Alyona Kavka, HR Director, KNESS, an innovative energy company.
Value of STEM background
Business is moving towards the sales culture. Companies focus on individual products and quality customer support; hence, project, product and sales managers are in demand. The roles require developed soft skills. Tech companies, especially in fast-growing sectors, often look for professionals with managerial experience and relevant STEM education.
“In cybersecurity and green energy, Ukrainian companies often look for people with a technical background to work as project and sales managers. After all, they need to maintain a professional conversation about the product with both the team and the customers, so a STEM degree is a prerequisite, ” says Alesya Kondratyuk.
IT professionals, managers and analysts are in demand
Data from job search engines confirm this. Along with software engineers, web developers and QA specialists, the demand for which exceeds the supply by 40% in Ukraine, companies actively recruit project and product managers, marketing specialists, data and business analysts.
Most popular white-collar jobs by the number of advertised vacancies
Source: Jooble, LinkedIn. Data processing and CES calculations.
Human communication is key
The seller function is being transformed — from physical to online sales via social media, marketplaces, virtual stores. Call centre and customer support operators will be in high demand, too — the role will move online but will not be replaced by AI.
“With the transition of small business to online, the need for salespeople has increased significantly: online order recipients, social media managers, call centre operators,” Maria Abdullina, Head of Work, OLX Ukraine.
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“When self-service terminals were installed in restaurants, we simultaneously created new roles. Their task is to improve customer experience through communication. That’s why our hospitality experts, staff who serve tables, delivery personnel and express window workers are always happy to talk to the customer and show a positive attitude” Natalia Timorina, HR Director, McDonald’s Ukraine.
Role of skills, not degree, is growing
Businesses will value employees with developed soft competencies, especially the ability to be agile and constantly learn in the workplace. Professional re-skill every three to five years will become the new norm in the future.
“We do not expect candidates to have experience in the banking field. We know how to work in a bank. We need people who will bring a new vision,” Yulia Pylypenko.
In the Ukrainian context, one of the key competencies for highly qualified employees is fluency in English. Employers point out that candidates often lack this competence. According to Jooble, 22% of vacancies require knowledge of English. According to LinkedIn — every second job post does.
Not all technologies are labour-friendly. However, where technology replaces routine, room for creativity and human interaction emerges.
