The Apulian IT sector is growing and needs to attract young IT talent to its companies, in addition to those graduating each year from Apulian universities.
This was one of the key points that emerged during the presentation of the 2018 report produced by the IT Observatory of the Apulian IT Production District. The report is comprised of three studies, conducted with the support of the Universities of Bari and Foggia, and involving the District's member companies and students and graduates.
"Puglia's IT sector is solid, dynamic, growing, and defies the cliché that it's primarily engaged in supplying public administration," explained Salvatore Latronico, President of the Puglia IT Productive District and President & Innovation Director of Openwork . "However, further efforts are needed to promote Puglia's reputation as a hub of innovation. This can be achieved through concrete strategic collaboration between universities, institutions, and businesses, the three key players in innovation processes. The implementation of policies to foster the region's digitalization and support the industrialization of innovation, achieved through consolidated collaboration between businesses and the research community, could strengthen the local production system and motivate many young people to stay or move to Puglia. At the same time, to improve the match between these two sides in the professional market, business demand for labor must be more effectively targeted and specialized."
Specifically, 77% of computer science students and graduates from Apulian universities would like to stay in the region. However, the Apulian IT sector is struggling to find the necessary skills on the labor market to support its growth.
Each year, Apulia's five universities graduate approximately 550 students, out of a total annual demand for the entire Apulian IT sector (comprising approximately 1,000 companies) estimated at several thousand (about four times as many).
Furthermore, between 2016 and 2017, both turnover (over half a billion euros) and the number of employees in the District's businesses (over 5,000) increased by 6%.
In this complex journey toward innovation and digital skills, the Polytechnic University of Bari and Openwork are already active in the field thanks to an agreement to create a Business Process Management (BPM) Competence Center. This center will provide companies—through the work of young graduates and undergraduates—with qualified skills in the digitalization of business processes.
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