Eighty-two per cent of people taking part in the “Vietnamese Tech Staff in the Face of New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain” survey conducted by the Navigos Group indicated an intention to get their own startup off the ground and more than half would consider relocation overseas in an opportunity presented itself.

Of the 82 per cent, 41 per cent have already tried to get a startup going while 58 per cent have never done so. The Top 3 fields in potential startups are AI, automated products, and Blockchain.

Over half of all respondents would be willing to move if they were offered an opportunity to go abroad and work for a Blockchain or AI startup. Of these, 25 per cent would have no problem with relocating for several years and then returning to Vietnam, while 22 per cent saw such a timeframe as an issue.

Mr. Gaku Echizenya, CEO of the Navigos Group, said that international companies are viewed as staying up-to-date with new technologies, meaning that Vietnamese companies need to be faster in the technology race to put Vietnam on the global map.

“We should build more playgrounds for the tech community to exchange, learn, and practice new technologies,” he said. “To lessen the danger of a tech ‘brain drain’, we should also focus on talent retention policies, creating sound conditions for product innovation and the chance to work with new technologies.”

In addition, tech staff tend to become specialists more than supervisors. When asked to imagine “The portrait of a person working in tech in Vietnam in the Industry 4.0 era”, candidates provided three necessary traits: Upholding their strong points and overcoming weaknesses in the technology; Being eager to learn and adapt quickly to continuous changes in technology; and Staying abreast of new technological knowledge and applying it effectively in their work.

Due to the fact that more candidates wanted to become a specialist rather than a supervisor or manager, they put more emphasis on specialized skills and knowledge than soft skills or leadership skills.

The Navigos Group, a leading company in recruitment services and the owner of VietnamWorks - an online recruitment portal, and Navigos Search - an executive search firm, released the survey results and accompanying report on August 28. The survey was conducted in July on 1,100 respondents now working in IT / high tech and technology in general.

VN Economic Times