Russian telecom companies posted over 68,000 vacancies in the first half of 2023 — a 16.24% increase compared to January – June 2021 and a 20.51% increase over the same period in 2022, according to a joint analysis of job postings by recruiting platform hh.ru and telecom provider Telphin. The study is available to Vedomosti. Representatives from Beeline and Tele2 also confirmed the increase in job openings.

The analysis was based on data from the hh.ru platform from 2021 through June 2023, examining over 313,000 telecom vacancies.

According to hh.ru data, total published vacancies in the telecom business reached 128,000 in 2021. Hiring decreased by 8.6% in 2022 to 117,000 positions. Employers most frequently seek entry-level specialists, with positions requiring no experience accounting for nearly half of all postings — 48% in the first half of 2023, 47% in 2022, and 48% in 2021. hh.ru analysts note that remote work vacancies increased by 42% in January – June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, a key consideration for many specialists.

Over the past two and a half years, the most consistently in-demand positions remain sales managers, sales consultants, call center operators, service engineers, and developers.

According to the study, the median offered salary in telecom reached 45,200 rubles in the first half of 2023, compared to 40,100 rubles in 2021 and 41,900 rubles in 2022.

Following the outflow of IT specialists abroad in 2022, many large companies in IT-adjacent and telecom-related industries began offering higher salaries to employees. The telecommunications market has been forced to respond with comparable salary increases, particularly in lagging regions, even while lowering professional standards in candidate searches, notes Maria Tyurina, General Director of Telphin.

“In certain areas during Q1 2023, vacancy growth due to new projects exceeded 30%. Additionally, employee outflow decreased by 3.1%, resulting in reduced hiring needs,” said a Beeline representative.

“We’re seeing a slight increase in open vacancies compared to the beginning of the year, driven by new project launches,” noted a Tele2 representative. “Regarding attracting specialists without experience, Tele2 operates a federal-level internship program.” According to him, 70% of interns transitioned to full-time specialist positions in 2023. However, the company experiences high demand for new specialties where qualified candidates remain scarce, such as in cybersecurity.

In 2022, companies responded to dramatic shifts in operating conditions, but 2023 has brought stabilization, notes Mikhail Tuzov, Head of Business Analytics and Solutions Department at LavoroSolutions. “We’re seeing growth in deferred demand,” he adds. The factors described in the hh.ru study apply not only to telecom but also to other economic segments, the expert believes.

“In 2023, a situation emerged requiring the organization of numerous production facilities. Companies needed to expand IT staff amid the departure of foreign manufacturers,” noted Denis Kuskov, General Director of Telecom Daily. He predicts the trend of increasing telecom vacancies will continue through 2024, followed by “a certain leveling off.”

Full article available on the Vedomosti business publication website.

Source: Vedomosti, September 21, 2023, “Telecom Companies Increase Job Openings and Raise Salaries”

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