Lithuania’s talent pool: the driving force behind GBS success

In part one of the series, we explored how Lithuania’s GBS sector has transformed over the past decade, growing five-fold and evolving from cost-saving operations to centres of excellence. This remarkable transformation would not have been possible without one crucial factor: Lithuania’s exceptional talent pool. With strong language competences and EU-leading levels of higher education per inhabitant, Lithuania has boasted a high-quality pool of specialists for many years.

Here is how talent has fuelled GBS growth and continues to attract global companies to establish and expand their operations in Lithuania.

Remigration and international students bolster GBS talent pool

As the GBS sector has rapidly expanded over the past 10 years, Lithuania’s pool of skilled talent has grown at the same pace. The reversal of migration trends has played a part in this, with Lithuania recording 6 consecutive years of positive net migration. Along with returning Lithuanians, there has been a marked increase in international students and professionals moving to Lithuania.

“In the last 12 years, the international student body in the country has grown by an impressive 700%,” says Vydunas Trapinskas, Director of the talent attraction agency Work in Lithuania. “More importantly, the conditions for students to work while studying are ideal – regulations even allow full-time employment.”

Full-time international students in Lithuania

Close collaboration with universities ensures talent pipeline

61% of Lithuanian GBS and ICT centres are cooperating directly with educational institutions, and 38% have partnerships with private coding schools. Importantly, the government is actively supporting industry-academia collaboration and talent attraction. “We work closely with our education sector to prepare specialists meeting investor needs,” comments Lukas Savickas, Lithuania’s Minister of Economy and Innovation. “For accelerated growth or highly specialized competencies, we facilitate the attraction of highly qualified foreign talent through relocation-friendly measures.”

Strong quality to cost ratio

As one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, it is unsurprising that wages have increased in Lithuania – salaries in the GBS sector are currently growing at a steady 5.8% at present. Nevertheless, the skills and mindset of the sector’s talents are ensuring Lithuania remains a cost-effective destination. “Lithuania has retained and is continuing to grow its advanced functions,” explains Rūta Kriščiūnaitė. “The exceptional combination of quality, efficiency, and low attrition explains this sustained commitment.” Mid-level employees in Lithuania often take on responsibilities typical of senior roles elsewhere, thus offering cost advantages. Combine this with a low average voluntary attrition rate of 16% and the sector remains cost-effective for high value functions.

The right infrastructure for GBS growth

Lithuania boasts not only talent, but also fast, robust  , having been an early adopter of fiber-optic connectivity. It ranks 8th globally for cyber security in the National Cyber Security Index. Its location, transport connections and real estate infrastructure have also supported the sector’s growth. One significant advantage Lithuania enjoys is that its GBS sector is centred around the two neighbouring cities of Vilnius and Kaunas. “The Vilnius-Kaunas hub continues to offer complementary strengths: Vilnius provides a diverse, multifunctional environment while Kaunas develops specialized expertise connected to its STEM education network,” says Rūta Kriščiūnaitė.

Business Services centers established across Lithuania

Many companies have exploited this advantage. For example, Danish adtech platform Adform established a GBS and ICT center in Vilnius, and then set up a complimentary office in Kaunas as its team has grown to over 350 professionals that provide services including IT, R&D and Marketing in 4 different languages.

A future of innovation and specialized functions

The coming years are likely to feature more companies building teams in Lithuania to handle complex, added value functions from day one. For example, sustainable technologies firm Johnson Matthey included high value functions in its Lithuanian GBS centre’s remit from the outset.  “Companies like Johnson Matthey are establishing centres focused on IT transformation and specialized functions rather than following the traditional pattern of testing basic operations before expanding,” notes Rūta Kriščiūnaitė.

Meanwhile, those who are already well-established in Lithuania are set to continue their growth and diversification. Over half of the GBS and ICT centres in Lithuania have growth plans for 2025, with 59% eyeing further expansion in 2026.

Company growth plans in Lithuania

Competitive labour costs and well-developed infrastructure are two commonly cited reasons why companies are planning to expand. However, the continued availability of well-educated talent is overwhelmingly the most important factor.

This talent will be handling the continued expansion of centres’ capabilities, particularly in terms of tech and AI. A third of centres have plans to introduce new AI capabilities, while data science, software engineering, finance and cybersecurity also feature prominently in plans. This means that after 10 years of transformation, Lithuania’s GBS sector looks set for another decade of rapid development and diversification.