SEOUL – More than half of small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea want to hire software developers from overseas amid a talent shortage, a survey showed Sunday.
According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, 75.4 per cent of the 187 companies surveyed from June 13 to 23 said they found it challenging to hire and retain local professional software engineers.
A lack of talent was the biggest challenge facing them at 74.3 per cent, and the pay gap between SMEs and large companies was considered the biggest reason for causing such a shortage, reported Yonhap news agency.
The survey also showed 27.3 per cent of the respondents had already hired foreign engineers, while 54.5 per cent had plans to recruit them in the future.
India, Vietnam, China and Indonesia were the preferred nationalities among South Korean SMEs for offshore engineers, at 36.4 per cent, 31 per cent, 11.8 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively, who are paid at a lower rate than their South Korean peers.
The ministry said it would address the talent shortage issues by nurturing 100,000 software talent by 2027 and actively serving as a bridge connecting SMEs with local and offshore talent. – Bernama
