The foreign investment development agency Invest Lithuania has made its third annual survey on the service centre sector in Lithuania – the most extensive and comprehensive survey of its kind. The survey involved centres that collectively employ over 90% of all those working in the sector, including Western Union, Barclays and Danske Bank with over 1,000 employees each.
The service centre industry has demonstrated extremely fast growth in Lithuania over the last five years. The number of people employed in the sector has been growing by 1,000 to 2,000 per year, while the total number of service centre employees now amounts to 14,000.
The survey demonstrates that in Lithuania, as in the rest of the world, the robotization of certain functions is an important trend affecting almost every representative in the sector. Part of the functions in four out of every five service centres operating in Lithuania are automated at some level. Interestingly, the management solutions for robotized processes that are used in as many as 58% of the companies have been developed in Lithuania, by local IT specialists. This not only demonstrates the competence of the specialists in the market but also shows how the sector as a whole is getting ready for the oncoming challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
“What we see is that in order to further develop this industry we need further changes in the investment environment. We need more specialists competent in foreign languages, retraining initiatives, and a system to attract talent from other countries, as the robotization of service centres will in the future call for more very highly qualified professionals. This will allow for the further growth of the average wage in the industry,” said Mantas Katinas, CEO of Invest Lithuania.
According to Mr. Katinas, this annual survey is also very important for potential investors considering opportunities to establish service centres in Lithuania, and for the agency it serves as a sales tool. The publication is fully objective and the most comprehensive information source about the industry, and its mere existence shows that the sector is one of the most high-priority industries in Lithuania and that the state deems its development important.
The survey on community service centres and key trends was presented at a special event to the heads of the centres, representatives of major Lithuanian universities, LEAN, and company image and language teaching specialists. The members of Invest Lithuania and guests from Belgium, Poland and Latvia discussed future challenges and shared ideas on their solutions at a regular community event hosted by Invest Lithuania.
You can download the Invest Lithuania survey here.
