Astonishing findings of a new IT industry research in Lviv

Lviv IT Cluster summed up the results of the year with a new tech industry survey IT Research 4.0, presented in December 2019, at the Award Ceremony of the most active IT companies – members of Lviv IT Cluster. IT Research is conducted annually together with a sociological agency Fama.

IT Research 4.0 gives IT market overview in Lviv, presents a portrait of an average IT specialist residing in Lviv, covering socio-demographic characteristics, education, hobbies, vacations among other life areas, measures the IT industry economic effect with such indicators as the IT industry turnover, new jobs created due to the tech sector activity, and median income of IT industry employees in Lviv.

The study is comprehensive and consists of a sociological and an economic component. The data was obtained from employees of Lviv IT industry and top-level executives interviews, companies questionnaires, and governmental institutions, such as the Department of State Fiscal Service in Lviv region.

CEO of Lviv IT Cluster Stepan Veselovskyi comments on the research findings – Four years in a row we’ve been trying to keep abreast of the growth and changes in our city’s IT industry. It is crucial for us to understand the progress, the changes in the dynamics, and know detailed figures. In comparison with the first survey in 2015, currently, we can observe a significant growth in the last year alone. More than 100 new IT companies appeared in Lviv, existing companies have grown in number: at 3 of them, the number of employees reached 1000+ threshold. In total, the number of employees in the tech industry in Lviv increased by almost 4k, and the economic effect that equaled nearly 1 billion last year, has reportedly exceeded the previous year’s indicators. The statistics is overwhelmingly striking.

LVIV IT MARKET OVERVIEW IT Research 4.0 findings show steady growth for the IT industry in Lviv, with the number of IT companies increased by 45% in 2019 (currently, 461 as compared to 317 in 2018). The growth dynamics between 2018 and 2019 increased by 1,5 in comparison with 2017 and 2018 (28%). The number of IT specialists in Lviv increased by 85% from 2015 to 2019 and now amounts to 24–25 k. In contrast, in 2018, there were 20-21 k of employees working in tech.

men 66%

women 23%

34% women

The majority of IT specialists in Lviv are male; however, the share of women in Lviv IT indistry is growing. The share of women in Lviv IT indistry increases by

men 77%

The structure of IT companies in Lviv according to the number of employees is as follows: micro-companies <10 (3,6%), small – 11 -50 (23,5%), medium 51 -250 – (27,2%), large – 251 -400 (2,5%). Interestingly, 1/2 of Lviv’s IT specialists work in large IT companies (251+).

According to the level of qualification and seniority, 2,3% hold trainee positions, 26,0% – junior, 41,6% – middle, 30,1% – senior. The median age of an IT specialist in Lviv is 28 (among Junior specialists – 25, Middle – 26, and Senior – 30).

The average salary of an IT specialist in Lviv as of 2019 totals $ 1,866. 8 out of 10 IT professionals are satisfied with their pay level. 1 out of 4 IT specialists is engaged in an additional activity (26.2%): freelance, an IT startup, a startup in another sphere, or teaching at an educational institution.

LVIV IT SPECIALIST PORTRAIT The percentage of men in the IT industry in Lviv prevails (66%); however, the share of women is growing. There were 34% of women in 2019, whereas in 2015 the percentage amounted to 23%.

69.3% of those working in tech received a master’s degree. Among 10 most popular study areas where IT professionals are acquiring or have acquired a degree, Information Technology is in the lead with 40,5%. Non-technical study programs are also present in the list, namely management and administration (10,4%), social and behavioral sciences (10,0%), humanities (7,2%), and journalism (2,3%).

63% of IT specialists in Lviv lead an active lifestyle and do sports, which is considerably more than among other categories of Lviv residents.

1 out of 4 employees of the Lviv IT industry uses innovative gadgets, such as smart home technology, monitoring systems, energy-saving and security systems, and innovative modes of transport in everyday life.

Lviv IT specialists are engaged in charity work (1 out of 2 IT specialists), take part in public organization or association activities (1 out of 7).

$559 mln

$360 mln

$411 mln $639 mln

direct indirect total (induced)

$919 mln

$1,051 bln

13–15 k

15–17 k

20–21 k

ECONOMIC INDICATORS The total induced economic effect of the IT industry in Lviv reached the striking $1,051 billion in 2018, exceeding the 2017 record of $919 million. The share of the IT industry in the GRP of Lviv amounted to 20,3%. The tech industry’s turnover ranged between $ 658 and $ 718 million. The total number of jobs created by the IT industry in Lviv equals 70.7-71.1 k (the number of direct jobs in IT was 24-25 k, whereas indirect ones, in other related sectors ‒ 46 k). In total, one IT specialist creates 3 jobs in Lviv.

Lviv IT Cluster hopes a nationwide survey will be conducted with the methodology used in IT Research 4.0. Although impressive the IT Research 4.0 findings are not completely unexpected. Lviv IT industry’s rapid development is possible due to the joint efforts of the entire IT community. Such favorable factors as the growing demand for tech products and services, the city attractiveness for IT professionals and a favorable investment climate are driven by numerous social initiatives and projects.

Apart from events and infrastructure projects, Lviv IT Cluster focuses on the education area with its IT Expert, IT Future, and IT Challenge projects. In the course of IT Expert, 5 innovative programs were launched at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and a new IoT lab was set up at Lviv Polytechnic National University. Due to the IT Future initiative students from schools in Lviv and the most remote corners of Lviv region get a chance to visit the largest Lviv IT companies. As part of the IT Challenge talented students from Lviv can receive financial assistance to develop their projects. Moreover, in 2019, Lviv IT Cluster launched an investment project Lviv Tech Angels aimed at the development of the city startup culture.

Author:

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