Specific requirements of human resources in the IT sector in Portugal.

Abstract

The strong growth in recent years in the ICT sector has been limited by the shortage in the number of professionals available to fill the growing number of jobs that emerge in this area. This is a particularly serious problem in Europe where the shortage stubbornly persists, despite the efforts made by European leaders over the past decade. Aware of these needs, we carried out a study on the specific needs of human resources in the ICT sector in Portugal in the view of retraining unemployed, in partnership with ANETIE, National Association of Information Technology and Electronics Enterprises. The study began with a search aiming to identify the existing ICT professions, coming to a list of 15 professions applicable in Portugal. Based on several European studies we constructed a list of technical activities and responsibilities associated with each profession. As the next step a survey was conducted using a questionnaire aimed to gather information about the relevant professions in the ICT sector, the main activities to be undertaken, and the needed skills, not only technical, but also soft, cognitive, business and communication skills. The results show that the Software Developer is the profession with more number of workers existing in the enterprises from the sample, but it is also the most needed in the next three years. Five other professions should, also, be highlighted as the most needed: IT Consultant, Technical Specialist (HW/ SW), Helpdesk Professional, Project Manager and Sales Manager. The CIO profession was not mentioned by any organization.