IT and telecoms activities are “key to executive employment in France.” This is the conclusion of Apec in its focus on employment in the sector between 2018 and 2022. And the forecasts for 2023 do not seem likely to call this assessment into question.
To this status, the digital industry in France can add that of “central engine of managerial employment”. In fact, it employs 12% of executives working in the country. Apec lists more than 400,000 companies with a combined workforce of 725,200 employees.
66% of executives in IT Vs 21% in France
Among this population, 461,200 are executives. This category accounts for 66% of jobs. On average, this supervision rate is 21% for all sectors. IT and telecoms therefore differ clearly in this parameter.
The share of executives is not the only singularity of the sector according to Apec. It also has in its favor its “dynamic of managerial employment”, which is also “intensifying”. Employment benefits from a unique advantage: it is “punctuated by technological innovations and supported by numerous investments.”
Result: the trend in executive recruitment is clearly on the rise. And with the exception of the health crisis episode, “the dynamic at work for more than a decade has not faltered and gained in intensity in 2022,” notes the study.
2019 was a record year with 59,000 recruitments carried out. This milestone has since been clearly crossed with 65,100 hires in 2022. And for Apec, this new high “could quickly be erased from the shelves.” In 2023, companies plan to recruit 67,400 executives (+4%).
A turnover higher by 4 points
This forecast remains to be confirmed. What is noted is the fact that IT “traditionally constitutes an entry function for newly qualified executives.” This was particularly true in 2022. Executives with less than 5 years of experience accounted for 56% of hires.
However, high recruitment does not necessarily rhyme with net creation and sustainable jobs. Especially since the sector displays a turnover rate significantly higher than that of the rest of the economy (13% compared to 9%).
However, despite this handicap, Apec considers that the dynamic is also there on the criterion of net creation of executive positions, described as “numerous”. They reach 74,400 between 2018 and 2022.
Let us point out that this figure is equivalent to almost a quarter of the creations made over the period, all sectors combined. The contribution to the economy of IT and telecoms companies is thus undeniable.
Hiring tensions are increasing
The ‘core business’ profiles constitute the “heavyweights in terms of volume of offers published”. These are positions in IT development, project management, infrastructure and systems and software integration.
At the same time, new needs are emerging, particularly in the field of Data (Data scientist, Chief Data Officer, Data analyst or Big Data Architect, etc.), notes Apec. A dark side also persists: recruitment difficulties.
For the study, they are partly explained by a job market that is “particularly favorable” to candidates, more than to employers. “The opportunities are numerous and allow them to evolve professionally,” they can rejoice.
However, “this is not without consequences on the recruitment difficulties that companies in the sector are experiencing,” considers Apec. In addition, “tensions have increased considerably”, at least for expert profiles and over the last 2 years.