Tag: talent pool

Nearshore hiring in tech has reached new heights ITJ

Nearshore Hiring in Tech has reached new heights

Posted on | by TeresaPenafiel | 9 Comments on Nearshore Hiring in Tech has reached new heights

Today, companies that are struggling to find qualified employees locally are increasingly exploring talent in Latin America. As a result, nearshore hiring in the tech industry has never been higher.

According to this survey, nearshoring software development employment will expand by 70% over the following year. Some firms have already actively hired outside the United States to fill vacant technical positions. Likewise, corporate boards highlighted that technology investment to build new goods and services is a top priority, according to a Harvey Nash Group survey of over 2,000 digital executives from almost 90 countries.

Nevertheless, workforce shortages may jeopardize investment plans as demand for technology specialists hits new heights. More than two-thirds of digital executives reported being unable to keep up with developments owing to a lack of trained IT experts. Therefore, Latin American talent has caught the attention of US-based firms, making nearshore the perfect solution to ease their pains. Take Mexico as an example, the area shares time zones with the United States, and looking for talent in locations such as Tijuana, helps businesses avoid competing for talent in places in the US.

Interested in knowing more about Nearshoring? Visit Benefits of IT Nearshoring for US Companies.

Top-performing firms use data more effectively to build valuable products and earn revenue. As a result of recruiting superior teams nearshore, they were more nimble in pivoting and growing their goods and services to meet client expectations.

Mexico’s nearshoring business has grown in the recent decade as a result of the country’s closeness to the United States, the NAFTA free trade agreement, and a big pool of multilingual employees. Historically, Mexico has served as a foundation for banks such as Santander, HSBC, and Bank of America to supply services to their branches across Latin America. However, Mexico’s software development program (Programa para el Desarrollo de la Industria del Software, or PROSOFT) is now presenting Mexico to IT clients as a world-class nearshore option.

“Latin America’s rising importance in global outsourcing is undeniable. With its proximity to the U.S., language skills, infrastructure, and tax incentives, Latin America has emerged as a favorable destination for IT and business process outsourcing.” (Forbes).

About ITJ

ITJ is devoted to serving fast-growing and high-value market sectors, particularly the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. With a unique BOT (build, operate, and transfer) model that sources only the best digital talent available, ITJ enables companies in the US to create technology centers of excellence in Mexico. For more information, visit www.itj.com.

Mexico: The biggest talent pool of engineers

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 3 Comments on Mexico: The biggest talent pool of engineers

“While the pressures of the Great Resignation and attendant labor shortage have wide implications for businesses in just about every industry, it’s even worse for companies looking to hire highly skilled tech workers. Prior to the pandemic, it was tough to fill specialized technology roles. Now, he says, it’s “next to impossible.” (Kelly, 2022, Forbes)

Software developers are in more demand than ever in the US. Luckily, not so far away there is a latent solution and a tech hub full of potential within. 

Every year, there are more than 160,000 graduates in computer science in Mexico. Comparing Mexico to nations with considerably larger economies, such as the United States, which has just 65,000 graduates, it is evident that Mexico is outperforming its peers. The talent market is getting more competitive, but Mexico remains a strong player in the global digital talent ecosystem because of the sheer number of graduates and the expansion of informal education institutions like coding academies. According to Steve Mezak, chief software services deal-maker at Next Coast Brokerage in Silicon Valley, “there is a continuous designer and developer scarcity that is prompting American service organizations to explore outside of North America.”

Nowadays, at hand with the Great Resignation, one million positions in the technology sector go vacant every year, according to a 2019 Wall Street Journal analysis. To address the talent gap, governments and the education sector are acting rapidly. When compared to other Latin American nations, Mexico has been at the forefront of developing a new generation of STEM graduates since 2006. Mexico may be the answer for American businesses wanting to outsource their software development. 

In terms of the salary of their software teams, there is no denying that labor costs are appealing for businesses trying to expand without paying the higher wages required to hire workers with the same abilities in the United States.

Latin America and Mexico are growing rapidly for potential U.S. employers, so establishing a team or office there should be as much about strategy as it is about the obvious cost reductions and annual salaries significantly lower than US ones. And, aside from salary costs, working with Mexican teams on projects is substantially less expensive than dealing with outsourcing partners in other regions of the world. Near real-time cooperation lessens the possibility of misunderstandings, work that wasn’t necessarily being done, or errors that can happen when requests for modifications aren’t fulfilled on time and as required. 

Consider San Diego and Tijuana as an example; the two cities are just a 30-minute drive away by car. If organization A has an IT team and a center of excellence in Tijuana, they may visit their team there for a single day without incurring additional expenses like lodging and travel costs. Flying to Mexico from the US could mean a huge deal for some, a 30-minute drive from the border could be a viable solution. 

Other benefits are the strong employee retention rates and prompt communication thanks to the cultural compatibility — a professional, diligent approach, and a dedication to outcomes between 2 similar cultures. In regions such as India or Eastern Europe, regardless of the great working teams, the understanding could vary because of the cultural scope, this will not happen with Mexican teams because not only of the proximity between countries but also because of the extent of the software engineering teams that speak fluent English. This common understanding can facilitate connections across Zoom and Slack in a professional setting and hasten the development of trust. Additionally, since most of Mexico is on central time, there are additional possibilities to interact due to the natural working day overlap.

In conclusion, IT firms of all sizes compete to scale their product design and engineering skills. The demand for digital products is outpacing the growth of the IT skill pool in the highly competitive U.S. labor market. Companies that look globally when expanding their teams can lower risk and scale more quickly than those that just invest in domestic education.

ITJ firmly holds the mission to offer mentorship and career development to a new generation of software engineers. To know more about it, visit ITJuana is committed to investing in developing digital talent in Tijuana.

About ITJ

ITJ is a trusted partner in building the finest software engineering teams in the Americas. For more information, visit www.itj.com.

a hand in the digital world ITJ

Nearshoring in Mexico: Pros and Cons

Posted on | by TeresaPenafiel | 4 Comments on Nearshoring in Mexico: Pros and Cons

So you’ve narrowed down that a nearshore solution is the best option for your organization. Presumably, you’ve also considered Mexico as a candidate country for your future operations. Well, these are the pros and cons of nearshoring to Mexico you need to know:

For more information about IT staff augmentation, you can read the article Are you struggling to find software engineers?.

Pros

  1. Larger talent pool

Sometimes the person you’re hoping to recruit — the ideal candidate for the position — lives on the other side of the border. This is where nearshoring comes into play. With this strategy, you may choose from a genuinely larger pool of skilled software specialists. This way, you get to collaborate with highly experienced engineers to produce excellent products for a fraction of the expense of hiring in-house professionals.

Crucially, in Mexico, according to data from the most current survey by the Mexican statistical office (INEGI), there are about a million people with studies in computer science and IT, with 68% being male and 32% being female. “Mexico is now one of the top producers of engineers in the world,” said Oscar Suchil, director of graduate affairs at the public National Polytechnic Institute, in a Washington Post article. Moreover, more than half of these professionals (56%) are under 35 years old, with the largest group being the youngest, freshly graduated (20 – 24 years old). It is a vast talent pool and a significant area of opportunity to seize for recruiters worldwide. 

2. Strong protection of IP rights

In Mexico, US corporations are well-protected in terms of intellectual property. The signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) bolstered these efforts even further and the support of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Mexico has with other countries. The USMCA includes several elements that update Mexico’s intellectual property (IPR) machinery, including systems for registering, preserving, and enforcing IPR throughout Mexico. Though the regulatory institutions that supervise IPR in Mexico differ from those in the United States, the agreement assures that rights holders in the United States will receive IP protection comparable to that found in the United States.

Intellectual property law is addressed in Chapter 20 of the USMCA. The chapter covers a wide range of IP-related subjects. Here are a few of the most noteworthy IPR clauses: Copyright Terms, Notice and Takedown System, Trade Secrets, Geographic Indicators, Industrial Design, etc.

Also, according to NAPS, US firms enjoy far better intellectual property rights protections in Mexico, owing to a long history of securing IPR protections through international treaties. 

3. Availability of Infrastructure

Infrastructure accessibility is as crucial as finding tailored software engineering teams when looking for a nearshore partner. Therefore, it is imperative to find a location that satisfies a business’ needs, with amenities like electricity, technological hubs available, water, transport, etc., should be considered. 

In the past, Mexico was formerly renowned for its maquiladoras, low-cost assembly facilities, and low-cost exports. Still, technology advances have shifted the country’s focus, and it now possesses Latin America’s most promising tech industry.

The Mexican government has spent considerably on infrastructure development to build Mexico a global industrial base and has revealed a plan to spend more than $40 million on infrastructure in 2019. As a result, Mexico’s established industrial regions provide essential services to enterprises seeking foreign direct investment. Now, Tijuana, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico’s City Tech Scenes are the protagonists.

4. Efficient communication

Your expanded development team’s cultural and geographical proximity also facilitates more efficient communication.

Cultural commonalities are a significant benefit of Mexico’s closeness to the United States; plus, about 24 million people study English in Mexico. Over the last decade, the population of English learners has grown, thanks in part to government programs targeted at improving English proficiency.

Furthermore, the lower travel time between your headquarters and your expanded staff allows you to arrange physical meetings and activities more frequently. This promotes teamwork, team spirit, and a genuine sense of belonging to the business culture.

Cons

  1. Be in sync with Mexican Regulations

A challenge for US companies may be to be updated with the last changes in Mexican Regulations regarding their industry. Among them are Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOMs): Mexican government standards. Mexican voluntary standards are known as Normas Mexicanas (NMXs), Federal Labor Law: The laws that control labor concerns, IMMEX (Industry Manufacturer Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación): Tax breaks for US manufacturers.

During nearshoring to Mexico, businesses must be cautious about these restrictions as they may present a struggle in terms of time.

2. Understanding Investment Costs

The purpose of nearshoring is to reduce expenses while improving profit margins. If the firm cannot attain this primary purpose, the entire effort will be in vain.

For seizing and taking advantage of the nearshore process, companies must determine how much it will cost to establish operations in a new nation via a well-planned financial business strategy concerning all touchpoints: labor, logistics, service, taxes, infrastructure, etc. Nothing can be left off the hook. 

As with every business decision, nearshoring to Mexico can present pros and cons. Inspect each one of them with a magnifying glass.

Companies must strategize to overcome hurdles such as Mexican legislation, investment costs, and cultural adaptation. Use the information presented above to choose where you should begin and help you make the best decision.

About ITJ

ITJ serves fast-growing and high-value market sectors. With a unique BOT (build, operate, and transfer) model that sources only the best digital talent available, ITJ enables companies in the US to create technology centers of excellence in Mexico. We create long-term relationships with partners and build highly-trained and reliable teams. For more information, visit www.itj.com.