The number of employees will grow by 10% this year in the business services industry, and automation will make up 42% of working hours

By 2030, in the business services industry – which includes companies from fields such as shared services (from English – Shared Services Center/SSC), outsourcing, but also research and development – 60% of job requirements will focus on skills such as creativity, teamwork, proactivity, adaptability and digital knowledge. In this regard, automation is expected to make 42% of working hours, and one in two employees will need professional retraining. At the same time, in Sibiu it is assumed that this year the number of employees will increase by 10%. The data is found in an analysis of the Association of Business Service Leaders in Romania (ABSL), which represents the business services sector.

ABSL Romania includes both domestic and multinational companies, regional and global leaders, such as Accenture Services, Bosch Service Solutions, Booking Holdings, Colt Technology Services, Deutsche Telekom Services Europe, Microsoft Romania, PwC Romania, Stefanini Romania, etc. . More than 100 specialists gathered in Sibiu to discuss the industry’s challenges – from the effects of the latest legislative and fiscal changes on the labor market, how workspaces are transforming, to the impact on the environment and social responsibility.

Automation of work will increase productivity. But first, people must be trained

According to the representatives of the association, one of the most important topics on the agenda of the meeting is related to technology in the context of the labor market. Automating work and using Artificial Intelligence in more and more processes could add up to 3.5 percentage points annually to productivity growth. However, employees will need support to acquire new skills, while some jobs/positions will change significantly, they say.

“In our industry, the human resource is essential, so we estimate that by 2030, 60% of job requirements will focus on skills such as creativity, teamwork, proactivity, adaptability and digital knowledge. The desired employee profile is mainly technical or economic, with a good knowledge of foreign languages. In an increasingly competitive global industry, we need to develop increasingly complex services in Romania, with high added value”, explains Ciprian Dan, president of ABSL.

Procurement, HR, IT and customer operations services are most frequently offered by companies in the business services industry in Sibiu, according to the ABSL report from the end of last year. The evolution of the employees who provide these services is closely correlated with the evolution of technology, this aspect offering numerous perspectives for professional development.

An increase in demand for specialists in fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning is also estimated, implicitly a continuous development of the skills of specialists in these fields. Given the ever-increasing and varied threats of cyberattacks, cybersecurity specialists—those who can protect data and systems against such attacks—are and will be increasingly in demand.

Financial services will have an upward trend, and this will cause an increase in the number of employees in this field. In the coming years, the demand for financial analysts specializing in data analysis will increase. Also, most positions in finance departments are expected to require solid knowledge of blockchain technology, which is currently not that widespread.

Also, those who want a career in HR in the business services industry will increasingly need increased digital skills, a number of processes such as payroll, benefits management, employee performance evaluation or even the recruitment process will be fully automated.

Another profession of the future will be that of business analyst, i.e. those specialists who identify business needs and implement technology in business, having expertise in both.

– it is also shown in the ABSL analysis.

Minimum 10% increase in employees in Sibiu

For the business services market in Sibiu, industry representatives estimate this year a minimum 10% increase in the number of employees.

“From inception to the end of 2023, hiring has grown approximately 20% annually. In 2024, we are focusing on recruiting in IT and possibly opening new positions in Finance. Our goal is to grow the company to become a center of excellence in Finance and IT. Our projects are flexible and adapt to demand, we mainly recruit for telecommuting, facilitating hiring nationwide. We prefer to offer development opportunities to existing colleagues for new projects”, reports ABSL, quoting Dragoș Vecerdea, from CWS Sibiu.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, digitization and technology increase the need for a highly skilled workforce, so between 2018-2030 there will be a 60% increase in the number of qualified people. 42% of working hours will be carried out with the help of automation / digitalization, and one out of two employees will need professional reconversion, according to industry representatives.

According to the ABSL report, the majority of companies (77%) recorded better results in 2023 compared to 2022, while the increase in the number of employees was 10% in the last two years.

Approximately 200,000 employees currently work in the business services industry, of which over 3% are located in Sibiu.

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