Albania’s ICT Market Is Maturing and Going Global but Talent Retention Remains the Key Challenge

In November, in the presence of industry stakeholders and the StartUp Albania Agency, the findings of the study “ICT Labour Market in Albania” were presented, an analysis initiated by the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) to better understand the current state of the market, its gaps, and its future development directions.

Today, Albania counts 4,065 active employers in the ICT sector, 63.3% of which are relatively young companies with less than five years of activity. Moreover, 51.1% of businesses export their services, signalling a sector with international presence and ambition.
With 22,972 professionals, including 10,049 software developers. ICT in Albania is built on a strong talent base, where 80% of professionals work at mid or senior levels. The vast majority, 90.3%, are employed in the private sector, while 82.4% are concentrated in Tirana, creating a powerful urban ecosystem but also a clear gap between the capital and other regions.

While demand continues to rise for roles such as programmers, IT specialists, cybersecurity experts, and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning professionals, only 36.4% of companies report significant hiring difficulties. However, the challenge is increasingly shifting towards retention: the sector has an average turnover rate of 12.3%, and 42.6% of businesses express concern about the rising costs of retaining talent.

The gender gap has narrowed considerably from 16% in 2014 to 6.5% in 2024, although women are still underrepresented in technical roles.
The growing strategic importance of the industry is the main reason AADF commissioned this study: to better understand where the market stands today, what the main gaps are, and how it can evolve towards greater sustainability. The outlook remains optimistic: 51% of companies expect growth in both revenue and operations over the next year.

Thanks to AADF’s support and in cooperation with the Albanian Government, ICT has been introduced as a subject from the first grades of primary school across the country for about four years now, equipping younger generations with skills for the jobs of the future. To date, more than 82,000 teachers have been trained in the use of technology and ICT teaching methods.

The study highlights that:

• The sector is transitioning from an emerging industry to a mature one, with relatively moderate employment growth of 5% between 2021 and 2024.
• This trend makes it even more important to design policies that support skills development, investment in new technologies, and the decentralisation of opportunities beyond Tirana.

In this new phase of maturity, the challenge is no longer simply growth, but sustainable, long-term growth, underpinned by a talent ecosystem that will keep the sector competitive in the global market.