Lisbon, April 23, 2024 – CHRLY, a corporate startup from Fujitsu Portugal fully dedicated to tech talent, challenged the team from the Back-to-Market program at the Center for Applied Studies at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa to carry out a study capable of revealing the factors for attracting and retaining technological talent in Portugal, in a context of scarcity and global competition. The study’s conclusions present both views, through interviews carried out with more than 200 tech talent professionals and also dozens of employers.

In addition to analyzing the context of technological talent and attraction and retention factors, including the gap between what supply wants and what demand offers, the document developed by Universidade Católica also reveals the innovative potential of technological talent in a business context.

Context of Technological Talent

The ICT area (Information and Communication Technology) represents 3.8% of jobs in Portugal (187.000 professionals), around 1% above Europe – in this field, growth above the European average reflects the transversal relevance of this type of professionals.

There is effectively a positive ecosystem for attracting international talent, which currently places Portugal in 27th place in the GTCI (INSEAD’s 2023 Global Talent Competitiveness Index), with a positive trend over the last decade, ahead of countries like Spain or Italy. Aspects such as geographic location (nearshoring), technical and linguistic skills, quality of life, safety or cost of living contribute to these results.

Although the pandemic has allowed Tech Talent to evolve remotely, half of the universe still works in a hybrid format and the trend is for this to increase – only 6% of professionals admit to working in a traditional face-to-face format.

Years of experience are a determining factor in Portugal, since 48% of the market has more than 9 years of experience and these professionals also remain in the same company for longer (4 years).

In terms of the most requested functions, the Top5 hard skills are AI (design, development of machine learning algorithms, testing and validation), Cybersecurity (defense of information systems), Software and app development (the oldest and most most sought after), Cloud (follow the paradigm shift in companies) and Data Scientist (extract value from increasingly complex data systems).

Remuneration and work-life balance are the main drivers of technological talent in Portugal, followed by opportunities for career progression and ongoing training.

Among the main strategies for retaining talent by companies, flexibility policies and the improvement of benefits offered to employees stand out.

Study Results – Tech Talent

The sample for this study was based on more than 200 responses obtained between December and January of this year. When asked about the main changes they feel in the job market, 55% mentioned greater job turnover; while in terms of day-to-day impacts, 60% of respondents highlighted greater pressure on results and 40% highlighted tighter work delivery deadlines.

The lack of technological resources in companies is, unsurprisingly, most felt in the areas of AI and machine learning (44%) and Cybersecurity (43%).

Technological talent has potential beyond its technical skills, with a thirst for constant learning (71%) and motivation for challenges and new projects (68%) being the most relevant skills.

When asked about promoting a culture of innovation in the company, the majority of respondents refer to leadership focused on innovation (62%) and transparency (60%) as the most necessary changes.

As for retention factors in the company, the results are not surprising: salary assumes the greatest relevance, followed by growth opportunities and flexibility. Teamwork in innovation processes is also valued and innovation outside the box is relevant to 90% of respondents aged 18-25.

Overall, this study demonstrates that positive integration, hierarchical or technical career progression and training can be differentiating retention strategies. With a view to promoting a culture of innovation, talent indicates that leadership focused on innovation, a culture of transparency, teamwork with co-creation and participation in innovation processes are organizational changes to be implemented.

Study Results – Employers

The sample for this study was based on 39 interviews carried out with companies with a wide sectoral coverage, including academia, business associations, the public sector and consultants.

For the companies surveyed, the talent shortage results from an imbalance between supply (insufficient resource pipeline) and demand, boosted by digital transformation and more recently by the pandemic. The difficulty in hiring is the effect of global competition for Portuguese technological talent and the non-competitive salaries of Portuguese companies.

As for the pressure on hiring “because it is a trend”, half of the companies do not take any action – they claim it is a strategic choice to secure resources in the future (hiring now to train).

To respond to growing human resources needs, 68% of companies mainly use resources outside the company (Academia and Outsourcing). And when they turn inward, companies resort to internal mobility, interns and internalization. It should be noted that 5% of companies have replacement pools guaranteed.

As for the profiles most sought after by companies, they are in line with market reports, with Cybersecurity and Data Analysis standing out. Regarding non-tech skills, companies are looking for resources with basic STEM training, curiosity, creativity and critical thinking.

Retaining technological talent is a challenge felt by 72% of respondents and largely derives from uncompetitive salaries when compared to global competition. Additionally, companies themselves report a lack of growth opportunities for talent.

Overall, the study reveals that to carry out innovation in a business context, favorable cultural conditions, transversal organizational transformation, a mindset involving the involvement of all people are necessary, with leadership being the guarantor of the redesign of the organization itself, with greater agility.

General Conclusions

As general conclusions, the study carried out by the Back to Market Program of the Center for Applied Studies highlights a context in which there are no policies or strategies for the aging of the workforce (and its readjustment to the challenges of digital transformation). On the tech talent side, unmet expectations in terms of salary, growth and challenge are highlighted, lamenting the lack of leadership and transparency. As for companies, they are captive of the lack of scale and competitiveness and are not valuing the needs of talent as a retention factor. Regarding tech talent and innovation, one needs motivation and training and both need leadership.

Study Link: Strategies to attract and retain technological talent in Portugal (chrly.pt)

Online resources

• Visit us: chrly.pt
• Read our blog: https://www.chrly.pt/blog/
• Follow our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrly_portugal
• Check our LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chrly-portugal
• See our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIdQmoG1gpM_ICaFxtZL_uw

Press Contacts

mediaBOLD
Pedro Amaral, CEO
Tel.: 211 557 634 / 932 981 103 – Email: pamaral@mediabold.com

Fujitsu
Susana Soares – Managing Director CHRLY Portugal & Innovation Board Fujitsu Portugal
Telf.: 21 724 44 44 – Email: susana.soares@fujitsu.com