The challenges facing the IT sector

“I wouldn’t say there is any reason for concern, but this is certainly a reason for rethinking in the IT sector in Bulgaria. We grew for many long years, enjoyed many customers and Western partners. This has led to a very large increase in our costs in the form of salaries. We have not been a cheap IT destination for a long time and this process is now just getting worse and we need to rethink what we actually offer as an industry,” Papazova said.

She noted that there are about 60,000 people employed in the sector, but there are also many IT professionals who are outside the sector. There are layoffs, but they are not massive. In addition, there has been a hiring freeze in companies, as well as less demand for specialists compared to previous years.

“These are normal economic processes. There is no such thing as ‘perpetual growth’ in the economy and we see this as a normal period of the economic cycle that we expect will pass. What we can do and what I mentioned is to position ourselves as a place of innovation, a place of very great expertise that is attractive to our international partners. We are competing with the whole world so we have to be aware of where we stand,” Papazova said. And added:

“My advice to all IT professionals is to emphasise their skills and their qualifications because qualified people are always in demand.”

Watch the full interview HERE.