Flush with venture funding, tech companies are offering staggering salaries and perks, while recruiters struggle to hang on to candidates eager for the best deals.
In the spring of 2021, Qatar-born edtech startup Stellic decided to hire a head of engineering in Pakistan. The company used LinkedIn and sought the services of two recruitment agencies to find a candidate. Ten months later, however, the role is still open. “We have been trying different channels, but we haven’t found the right candidate,” Sabih Bin Wasi, founder and CEO of Stellic, told Rest of World.
Stellic’s struggle reflects a broad trend in the Pakistani tech industry, where companies — startups as well as traditional IT firms — are struggling to attract the right talent. The tech boom in recent years has created a severe shortage of trained tech workforce in the world’s fifth most-populous country. Experts believe the industry must come up with innovative ways to overcome the shortage soon, if it wants to continue its impressive growth.
Pakistan’s IT exports increased at a compound annual growth rate of 17.8% between fiscal year 2016 (July–June) and FY 2021. The country’s tech startups raised a record $365 million in 2021 and have already banked at least $223 million in less than five months of 2022.
“There’s literally a war for talent these days,” Salman Shahid, CEO of recruitment startup Kamayi, told Rest of World. “The situation has perhaps been the worst for local software houses, who cumulatively...
Read Full Story: https://restofworld.org/2022/pakistans-startup-boom-war-for-talent/
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