About 450,000 people are employed in the IT sector in Poland. IT developers and managers are the most desired, not only by Polish but also foreign employers. Each year, more and more foreign companies decide to locate their investments here and open IT hub.
Talent Place has prepared a special report on the 7 most popular cities in Poland to answer most frequently asked business questions related to investing in this country. What does the tech talent pool look like at each location? How do salaries vary by location? And much more.
Goal of the report
Talent Place, on the basis of long-term cooperation with foreign companies and the experience of a community of over 200 recruiters, prepared an IT hub report on the most desired localisation on the market. The goal of the report is to provide key information on the talent pool, recruitment and employment in the business environment compared to 7 Polish cities where companies most often develop their IT teams.
Talent Pool – number of candidates and remuneration
The IT market is a space for huge development and interest in this industry is still growing. Poland has seven major IT hubs employing over 85% of all IT professionals in the country, with the majority of them living in Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw. Katowice is the main city of the GZM (“Uppersilesian City Union”) including 12 cities with over 1,9 million inhabitants. It’s a 1 hour ride from Cracow, additionally extending the potential of that city.
The greatest interest concerns specialists at the medium and senior level. However, beginners in the IT industry also have very good chances of employment. Apart from a large tech talent pool, it is important to ensure that experts have skill, knowledge and experience to handle complex projects.
The technical expertise of software developers from Poland is well-known beyond their own country or even Europe. Many rankings acknowledge the competence of developers from Poland, as they typically qualify within the top 5 counties based on their knowledge and experience. JavaScript is still the most popular programming language in Poland from the perspective of companies, but also of IT job seekers. The next most sought-after professionals on the market are Java developers and QA (quality assurance) testers/specialists.
The number of foreign job offers that reach Polish IT specialists are increasing, which affects the undertaking of more and more technologically advanced projects and the influx of foreign capital. In 2022, the average salary in the Polish IT industry ranged from $20,000 a year for a junior on a employment contract to $75,000 a year for an experienced senior on a B2B contract.
In smaller cities, IT specialists may receive from 10 to even 20% lower remuneration than people from larger towns. The map below shows the differences in how the average wage in the country compares to those received by employees from different areas of Poland.
Recruitment and employment
The situation on the IT market in Poland in terms of salaries is at a very good level, which is why the competition on the labor market is quite high. When competing for the best talent, it is important to pay attention not only to a good offer but also to an efficient recruitment process. One in two candidates gives up on a process that is too long.
In the process of acquiring an employee, close cooperation with the recruitment manager is important. Such a relationship speeds up the process, candidates are kept informed, which leads to better conversion of accepted offers. The experience of HR experts from Talent Place says that a perfect recruitment process lasts up to 2 weeks. The company doesn’t recommend additional homework. If necessary, recruiters from Talent Place check the technical skills of candidates by conducting a live coding or technical interview.
A peculiarity of the Polish IT market is the fact that B2B contracts and remote work are very popular. Companies that do not offer the opportunity to work from home or only offer an employment contract have a weaker negotiating position in the labor market. The main advantages of working on B2B are a higher salary, tax optimization and mutual benefits. The chart below confirms that employment in this model has become the standard in Poland.
Business environment
Companies around the world, due to the rise in popularity of remote work, have begun to hire globally, which means they don’t have to limit their talent search to a specific location to find the perfect employee. However, when building larger teams, it is a good idea to learn about the specifics of the country and cities where you want to locate your investment.
There are about 50,000 companies in the IT industry in Poland, producing 8% of the country’s GDP. The sector is constantly growing, attracting new investors from all over the world. One of the reasons for this is the high quality of Polish programmers. More and more young Poles want to tie their future to this industry. Currently, there are 86,000 students studying ICT-related subjects, and 11,000 graduates found jobs in the IT industry last year.
There are over 500 R&D facilities and companies in Poland which significantly accelerated the development of the industry. Polish research and development activity is more and more often financed by the private sector, which affects the interest of companies on the global market. Examples include companies such as ABB, Google and McKinsey, which have opened their research and development centers in Poland.
Why is it profitable to open an IT Hub in Poland?
Poland turns out to be an ideal place to invest because it is located in the center of Europe. Many foreign companies from both the USA and Western Europe choose Poland because of its professionalism and lower costs.
Companies that decide to expand in Poland emphasize several key factors. Their choice depended on the availability of specialized IT employees, appropriate approach to work, business conditions, market opportunities and the costs of doing business. Employers have become convinced of digital transformation. They now have more trust in employees and have opened up to remote work.
Are you wondering where to open an IT Hub in Poland? Check out the full report with comparison of the 7 major cities prepared by Talent Place.
Download IT Hub in Poland report
IT Contracting
Software development in Poland has been rapidly developing over the last decade. This country has both human capital and versatile expertise to become a reliable outsourcing destination for companies worldwide.
Are you planning to invest in an IT Hub or expand your IT team with experienced people with the skills necessary to get the job done? Try IT Contracting – a flexible and high-quality solution that will help you complete projects on time.
The IT Contracting service is designed to provide a guarantee of success in the implementation of even the most complex IT projects in your company. Each stage is individually tailored to the client’s needs.
Discover the advantages of IT Contracting in our offer.
