Competition for IT workers in Vietnam is hotter than ever.

A new survey of 500 skilled IT workers in Vietnam from ITviec shows that 50% of IT workers will consider changing jobs in the next 6 months.

The survey also reveals attitudes and preferences of IT workers in Vietnam and points the way for IT companies to attract and retain the talent they need to grow:

  • Training and career growth: provide training and opportunities for advancement. Overseas training is particularly prized.
  • Challenging, interesting work: make sure that the work is challenging and interesting
  • Product focus: provide opportunities to work long-term on products and different aspects products (for example, front-end, back-end, database, etc.). This can be done an an outsourcing environment by rotating developers to different skill areas.
  • Culture and management relationship: improve the “caring” relationship between management and workers

Download all survey data, infographic files and photographs of IT working environments here.

Here are data for 5 new findings from the survey:

1. Training, opportunity to grow and management caring are most important factors in retaining IT workers

Slide 11

With many choices of companies and attractive salary, keeping employee is a challenge for many companies. 50% of respondents plan to change their jobs within the next 6 months.

Slide 12

Training opportunities and feeling that management cared for them are the biggest factors that separate workers who plan to leave in the next 6 months from workers who plan to stay another year or more.

“Nearly all our customers tell us they will grow in 2015. They will hire 10%, 25% or sometimes 50% more workers,” said Chris Harvey, CEO of ITviec.com, Vietnam’s leading online recruiter for IT positions.

Harvey continued, “There aren’t enough experienced, skilled workers to satisfy demand. Employers must compete to hire and retain the people they need to grow their businesses.”

2. IT workers are passionate about what they do

Slide 1

84% of survey respondents said they chose a career in IT because they “love computers.” This reason was more important than salary or stability.

Slide 2

47% said that “working on an interesting product” is the most important consideration in choosing a job.

3. More IT workers prefer to work at product companies over outsourcing companies

Slide 3

46% of respondents prefer to work at a product company whereas only 10% prefer to work at an outsourcing company. 44% have no preference between outsourcing or product.

Slide 8

While the number of IT people working at product companies vs. outsourcing companies is roughly equal at 52% and 48%, 37% of people working in outsourcing companies would like to switch to a product company. Only 3% of people working at product companies want to switch to an outsourcing company.

Although, outsourcing companies are growing fast and sustainable, the work is often project based and workers switch often from project to project. Product companies allow IT workers to work on a product long-term and feel more ownership.

Slide 6

Interestingly, Hanoi IT workers are more less interested in product jobs than their Ho Chi Minh cousins. 65% of Hanoi workers don’t have a preference or prefer outsourcing versus 49% for Ho Chi Minh.

4. Foreign companies are perceived as a better place to work than Vietnamese companies

Slide 4

57% of respondents prefer to work at a foreign-owned company, whereas only 6% prefer to work at a Vietnamese company. 37% have no preference.

Slide 9

42% of people working in Vietnamese companies want to move to foreign companies, and no one working in foreign companies wants to move to Vietnamese companies.

Slide 10

Sebastien Auligny, South-East Asia Group Studio Manager for French mobile gaming company Gameloft, said, “Vietnamese IT workers have talent. Competition for skilled IT people definitely has increased. At Gameloft we’ve found that providing people with international quality training and and an opportunity to work on new technology helps us compete to attract and keep good people.”

Slide 7

65% of Ho Chi Minh workers prefer foreign companies compared to only 36% of Ha Noi workers. 35% of Ho Chi Minh workers either don’t have a preference or prefer Vietnamese companies compared to 62% for Ha Noi workers.

5. Male and female workers value different things

Slide 5

49% of men said creating interesting product is most important consideration in choosing a job compared to 32% of women who said the same. 48% of women listed training as most important vs. only 19% of men.