Paid DB survey of SW developer
96.7% of respondents ‘working with project'
Lack of manpower due to surge in industrial demand
Growth opportunities for mid-sized companies... Changes of awareness req
The software (SW) manpower shortage is intensifying. It turns out that it is not easy to find even software freelance developers who would fill the shortage of full-time software developers. Kaonsoft, a mobile software specializing company, secured 3,751 (paid) among the SW developer database (DB) that allowed the disclosure of personal information on the domestic recruitment site, and checked 1,680 people by phone, and it turned out that 1,624 people are already working with projects. While the 96.7% of freelancers are working with projects, the job search rate was only 3.3%. It means that 97 out of 100 people are working on the project, so it is difficult to put them into other projects.
In system integration (SI) projects, SW freelance developers usually account for 20-30% of all SW developers, and in some cases, up to 50%. Due to the cost structure, it is difficult to put in 100% of the company’s manpower, so a certain part of the software is full-time, and the rest is filled with software freelancers.
Both the ordering party and the developer want to employ their own full-time employees if possible. This is because of the view that SW freelancers have limitations in verifying their capabilities, but they are difficult to manage and lack of responsibility. Nevertheless, the fact that the vast majority of software freelancers are putting into the project is proof that it is difficult to secure software developers.
There are several factors that exacerbate the SW manpower shortage. As information technology (IT) has become the ‘0th industry', demand for developers has surged across industries such as manufacturing, medical care, welfare, culture, construction and more. As non-face-to-face method spreads and digital transformation accelerates due to COVID-19, more places are looking for developers.
Recruitment of large-scale developers by platform and game companies and a decrease in population also aggravate the difficulty in securing SW manpower. The characteristics of the MZ generation, who are less reluctant to job flipping, also play a part in the manpower shortage. Although the government is promoting various manpower training programs, it is not easy to meet the rapidly increasing demand.
According to the data of the SW Policy & Research Institute, it is predicted that over the next five years, the demand for new manpower in the SW field will be around 353,000, which is about 30,000 short of the 324,000 that are generated through government projects. Software companies have argued that more software developers than expected are needed according to the acceleration of digital transformation throughout the industry with historical data-based output data. This is why SW groups such as the Korea Software Industry Association emphasize the necessity of 'nurturing 1 million SW talents'.
The Ministry of Science, ICT is monitoring the market situation, because the supply and demand situation for SW developer manpower has worsened since last year, and that demand is expected to rise more than the prediction. Sang-ha Kim, CEO of U-plus IT, said, “90% of SW companies are small and medium-sized enterprises, so we need to present a vision to developers and provide opportunities for growth. If we stay as a simple manpower supplier without such efforts, it will be difficult to secure software developers in the future.”
By Staff Reporter Ho-cheon An (hcan@etnews.com)