By rbj
The newly created value in the software and services industry is about 6.2% of Romania’s GDP, which amounts to about 13.6 billion euros, according to a study by the Employers’ Association of the Software and Services Industry (ANIS).
“We all know that the IT industry is one of the basic pillars of Romania’s economic development, that our specialists are among the best in the world and, although the industry is constantly growing and making relevant contributions to the state budget, we continue to face We conducted this study precisely in order to have an accurate picture of the industry and to present different scenarios for the evolution of the industry in the next four years. it can become a technological hub in the region or it can lose its competitiveness in relation to the IT industry, with considerable effects for the national economy, in both situations “, said Mihai Matei, ANIS president, during an event organized at the Parliament Palace.
The analysis presented on Wednesday shows that the software and services industry is growing three times faster than the economy. Thus, if in the last five years analyzed (2015 – 2020), Romania’s economic growth was 6%, the industry registered a jump of 17%.
In terms of human resources, the ANIS study shows that approximately 270,000 employees are supported in total by the software and IT services industry.
The industry is also experiencing the fastest growth rate of employees in the last five years, with an annual performance of about 10,000 people. However, the study reports that there is still a significant shortage of IT market specialists of almost 10,000 / year.
As a perspective for the coming years, ANIS estimates that, if the current situation is maintained, the IT industry can contribute to GDP with a gross value added of 17.4 billion euros in 2025, but the amount may increase to 20.4 billion euros. , “if measures are put in place to continuously improve competitiveness”.
“Among the measures to strengthen competitiveness are: maintaining tax exemptions, introducing additional measures to encourage industry and stimulating innovation. On the other hand, the deceleration of competitiveness will take place if tax exemptions are eliminated, Romania will become uncompetitive in the region, In addition to maintaining the current facilities, industry representatives present three types of measures needed to strengthen the competitiveness of the IT industry in the region: encouraging research & innovation, attracting, retaining and stimulating specialists, and training (education). In the first direction, the representatives propose as measures: the application of the existing deductions for the R&D activity, the increase of the deductibility percentage, and the projects through which certified patents are created to be considered R&D projects without other bureaucratic formalities “, ANIS representatives claim.
In the same context, ANIS proposes to stop the brain-drain phenomenon, social protection measures, simplify the financial participation of employees in the income of companies (ESOP), attract specialists from other countries, and bring back to the country those who left.
At the same time, for the training of the IT workforce, the Association sees as appropriate measures the provision of incentives to employers who support training programs, funding for private post-graduate education programs in IT, and support for employment and retraining in other fields.
