Up to 200,000 specialists needed to digitize national economy

Baku hosted UNEC2B, the event dedicated to the labor market where a number of issues regarding the current trends in employment were discussed on November 28.

The event was attended by a number of officials including Salim Muslumov, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan, Zakir Nuriyev, the head of Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA), Vusal Gasimli, the executive director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication of Azerbaijan.

Gasimli, while making remarks during the event, said that about 150,000-200,000 IT specialists are needed for the development of digital economy in Azerbaijan. He noted that at present, there are about 2,000 such specialists in Azerbaijan.

“This does not mean that we cannot find a way out of the situation. For example, it is possible to review the migration policy and attract the experts that we need from abroad. At the same time, we can take measures to prevent relocation of personnel to other countries,” Gasimli said.

The Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications of Azerbaijan proposes to unite all information on labor market participants in the State Examination Center, said Gasimli.

“If we know in which direction our economy is developing and we have sufficient information (on the labor market), we will be able to make correct decisions as to which specialists will be in demand in Azerbaijan in the future,” said the director of the analytical center.

Uniting in the single center information about school performance scored at the entrance to the university points and the situation in the labor market is important, since large data (Big Data) will allow more efficient management of labor resources, he noted.

Nuriyev was also among the officials addressing the event. The Association of Banks of Azerbaijan (ABA) is ready to help students to establish contacts with potential employers, he said.

He noted that nowadays it is important to ensure the activities of professional training centers with professional associations. He added that a similar center operates under the association headed by him.

Most often, the Azerbaijan Bank Training Center at the association helps those who want to improve their skills or change the scope of activities, the head of ABA said. At the same time, in the near future the current requirements for training, in particular, on the banking sector will remain the same, he added.

In Azerbaijan, the average salary of top-managers of banks is 8,000-10,000 manats ($4,700$5,887). Such data are the result of a survey conducted by the ABA in the banking market, Nuriyev noted.

“This level of wages is quite competitive from the point of view of the international banking market.”

“Today, about 16,000 people work in Azerbaijan's banking sector,” he said. “Despite that the number of employees in this sector has decreased over the last two years, banks has been strengthening their human resources since the second half of the year,” he said.

Nuriyev added that banks are still experiencing serious shortage in accountants, IT specialists and representatives of other professions.

Young people in Azerbaijan will receive benefits at job placement as the government will pay half of the social deductions that employers pay for employees, said Muslumov while making remarks at the presentation of the platform.

Only 12 percent of graduates of the Azerbaijan State Economic University (UNEC) got a job, the minister noted.

Muslumov added that out of 16,000 graduates only 1,912 have jobs and are officially registered for it. He said that this is a very small figure, which shows that there is no immediate demand for UNEC graduates in the labor market.

The minister added that in order for future economists to be in demand not only in Azerbaijan, but also in other countries, they must have knowledge on accounting and economic law, freely work with various IT-programs. If these conditions are met, there will always be work for such economists, he said.

Muslumov also recalled successful examples, in particular, graduates with an economic education, who today occupy high positions in international companies and have a monthly salary of 20,000 manats ($11,775).

“There are many such people in Azerbaijan who know perfectly well both accounting and economic law and are well versed in other areas. Such economists can get a good job not only in Azerbaijan, but also in other countries.”