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A sector of technology professionals that accounts for 6.5% of GDP
While many people are looking for jobs, there is a sector of the Brazilian economy that cannot find people to hire, and this has been ongoing since 2019. The technology market is growing faster than the country is training professionals, and the numbers don’t add up. According to Brasscom, Brazil trains about 53,000 people per year in technology-related courses, but the market has an average annual demand of 159,000 technology and communication professionals. Qualified people are missing in every corner of the sector.
This mismatch turns into a gap that accumulates year after year. According to Brasscom, this difference between what the country trains and what the market needs creates an estimated annual deficit of 106,000 technology professionals, which adds up to about 530,000 unfilled positions over a five-year period. This is the size of the so-called talent blackout.
Why are there so many missing technology professionals
The problem is not a lack of vacancies, but a lack of people prepared to fill them. The technology sector grew at a pace that the education system did not keep up with, resulting in a market with high salaries and empty seats. According to Brasscom, there is a mismatch of about 30.2% between the supply and demand for technology professionals, as the sector demanded 665,000 people between 2019 and 2024, but only 464,000 were trained during this period. Training is trying to catch up but hasn’t reached it yet.
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Brothers left the countryside as children, studied in the city, and returned years later with management, technology, and sustainability to help parents and grandparents transform a traditional farm into a diversified business with cattle, soybeans, vineyards, wines, and sparkling wines.
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Raised in the countryside, she worked as a domestic worker, saved R$ 2,500 from maternity leave, and returned to the family farm in Paraíba; Flávia Santos now leads the production of 300 tons of food per year.
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Amazon woman turned waste that would go to the landfill into compost, restored a devastated site in Pará, and created an organic production that has already recycled about 2.5 million kg of waste.
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After 25 years away from the hinterlands of Ceará, a farmer returned to the land he had abandoned, tripled the corn harvest in the semi-arid region, and saw 250 producers knocking on his door to discover the method that revived the crop.
Image caption (talentos-ti-2.jpg): Brazil trains fewer technology professionals than the market needs, creating the talent blackout. Photo: Reproduction/press.
The bottleneck has been pointed out for years by the specialized press. According to Correio Braziliense, the Brazilian technology sector is experiencing a scenario where there are plenty of vacancies but a lack of qualified labor, a mismatch that has deepened with the accelerated digitalization of companies of all sizes. The warning is old and has only grown.
This scenario has an explanation that mixes school and market speed. Technology changes quickly, requires constant retraining, and doesn’t always find the necessary agility in traditional education to keep up with new languages, tools, and areas that emerge every year. Meanwhile, the demand from companies for technology professionals only grows, driven by the digitalization of practically all sectors of the economy, which helps explain why salaries in the area remain so high.
A sector of technology professionals worth 6.5% of GDP
Despite the bottleneck, the technology sector is one of the most significant in the economy. According to Brasscom, the information and communication technology macrosector moved more than R$ 760 billion in Brazil in 2024, equivalent to about 6.5% of the country’s GDP. It is one of the strongest drivers of the Brazilian economy.
Image caption (talentos-ti-3.jpg): The technology macrosector moved more than R$ 760 billion in Brazil in 2024. Photo: Reproduction/Brasscom.
And it’s not just volume: it’s quality employment and high salaries. According to Brasscom, the technology sector employs tens of thousands of people with average salaries more than double the national average, making the area one of the most attractive for those seeking high income and stability. Each unfilled vacancy is an above-average salary that ceases to exist in the economy.
The cost of the talent shortage for the economy
As shown by the study released by Brasscom, the lack of technology professionals is not just a problem for technology companies. Since practically all sectors depend on software, data, and automation, the talent shortage delays projects in banks, industries, commerce, and services, increases hiring costs, and causes Brazil to lose competitiveness compared to other countries that train more people in the area. It is a bottleneck that spreads throughout the economy.
This deficit also opens up a huge window of opportunity. For those who qualify in technology, the market offers high salaries, plenty of vacancies, and the chance to work even for foreign companies without leaving home. Requalification programs, technical courses, and quick training have become a path for thousands of people to change their lives by entering one of the few sectors of the economy where there is a lack of candidates, not jobs, with salaries that exceed most other careers.
What Brazil needs to do from now on
Overcoming the talent shortage depends on acting on several fronts at the same time. Expanding technology education from the ground up, investing in technical courses, accelerating requalification programs, and bringing schools and companies closer together are paths pointed out to reduce the deficit and harness the sector’s potential. Without this, the country will continue with plenty of vacancies and no people to fill them, even with salaries above the national average.
For the Brazilian economy, the message from Brasscom’s numbers is twofold. On one hand, the technology sector is one of the biggest opportunities for income and growth that the country has, with 6.5% of GDP and high salaries. On the other hand, this potential will only be realized if Brazil resolves the training bottleneck. As long as there is a lack of technology professionals, the country will leave money and competitiveness on the table, in a sector that could grow even more and generate even more well-paid jobs.
Watch: the talent shortage in the technology sector
To understand the magnitude of the problem, a video helps. Tecnoblog showed how there are open positions in the technology sector, but talents are fleeing from Brazil, the same shortage pointed out by Brasscom. Tell us in the comments: have you ever thought about migrating to the technology area?
