Now skilled sales and marketing managers are hotter than hot, and computer whizzes are hotter than that, recruiters say. The need for bankers, while still strong, has receded.
Sales managers were 62 percent of recruits by RMS Recruitment in 1997, followed by 31 percent in marketing and only 7 percent in financial management.
"Most of the business in Latvia is selling and marketing products," said Tamara Zelenevska, RMS recruitment director.
Nowadays, sales and marketing managers have to have more than simply a way with people and the gift of gab. In today's high tech markets, employers need sales and marketing managers skilled in engineering. Above all, they need computers. Commerce in the high tech sector of the markets has expanded the need for information technologists.
Zelenevska agreed. "This year we feel that a very popular vacancy is computer specialists. We have a deficit in Latvia," she said.
Companies need people who can not only sell, but also consult and set up systems, Zelenevska said. International companies want to open representative offices to sell products where there is not much local manufacturing.
"They want sales and marketing managers who have the potential and motivation to start a business from zero, who can target company goals and also have an interest in developing themselves, Zelenevska said.
RMS maintains a database of candidates and participates in job fairs at the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of Latvia. If a company needs a specialist hard to come by, RMS will advertise at schools to pluck a promising student before he or she graduates.
Recent graduates aren't the only sources for talent, Zelenevska said. Another cheaper way is for companies to look in their own offices to find employees with experience and company loyalty for retraining.
"Companies have a tendency to hire specialists from other companies," Zelenevska said. "It is very valuable to find and promote people from within. We screen to find employees who already have a potential to advance who might otherwise be lost."
One company that trains information specialists is Fortech in Riga. The dearth of computer specialists has been a bonanza for Fortech's training program.
"We have had a 70 percent increase in the call for computer specialists in programming and accounting, Haralds Burkavskis, Fortech spokesman said. There is a hot demand for training.
Participants in youth computer courses featuring programming and mathematical applications have to compete in open informatics Olympics for a keyboard. Free courses sponsored by Fortech and Soros Foundation-Latvia have produced whizzes who have won prizes in international competitions.
Laurie Cinkuss of Fontes International, a human resources firm, said that the computer boom in Latvia has been sudden, making a scarcity that has brought high wages.
Computer programmers, networkers and information technologists can name their own price for their work, Cinkuss said.
"Programmers and IT systems administrators can call the shots on salary, they are such a hot commodity," she said.
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