63% of Venture Companies Say "Software Workforce Recruitment is Difficult"

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] It has been revealed that 63% of venture companies are experiencing difficulties in securing software personnel.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 19th that this was the result of the "Perception Survey on the Software Workforce Market for SMEs and Startups," conducted targeting venture companies and youth preparing for employment.

Regarding this year's hiring environment, both venture companies (40%) and job seekers (46.9%) responded that it would be worse compared to last year. On the other hand, the positive outlook was only in the low teens percentage for both groups.

63% of companies perceived the supply and demand of software personnel as "somewhat difficult." 51% recognized that turnover and resignation rates of hired software professionals were "higher" compared to other job categories, indicating that the manpower shortage persists.

Companies responded that it takes about three months of retraining for software majors to reach the required level after hiring, and especially for graduates from liberal arts fields, more than one year of training is necessary.

Additionally, companies identified "Big Data & Database" and "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" as software technology fields expected to see increased demand in the future market.

As for private companies where job seekers want to work, large corporations and well-known venture companies such as Naver were ranked highest. However, preference for SMEs and startups was only around 4%. Reasons why job seekers do not consider SMEs and startups included "concerns about job stability" and "expectation of low wages."

Regarding the desired salary level (based on starting salary), about half of the respondents answered 25 million to 35 million KRW.

An official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "Based on the results of this survey, we will continue to operate the Venture Startup Academy," adding, "Especially this year, we plan to run a total of five programs and 13 training courses by adding two programs compared to last year."