A study by Fundação Seade, published in Primeira Análise nº 14, identifies, in the State of São Paulo, the main centers and municipalities where the presence of the software and information technology and telecommunications services sector is relevant, as well as the specificities of the segments in each of them. The characteristics of the workforce in this sector are also presented, with an education profile and aspects related to the main occupations, in addition to higher education courses associated with them.
In recent years, the information and communications technology services sector in Brazil has grown at a much higher rate than the country's Gross Domestic Product - GDP. In 2013, for example, while the national GDP increased at a rate of 2.3%, the sector advanced 5.3%. In this scenario, the State of São Paulo stands out as the most important national hub in the sector.
According to the data, the analysis of the sector's evolution, between 2008 and 2012, shows that the concentration of some selected activities intensified in the capital, in an apparent movement of specialization. The two segments that had the most expressive growth in the share of total jobs in this period were: development of custom computer programs, which went from 46.6% to 62.1%; and information technology consulting, which increased from 44.8% to 54.6%. Regarding the number of companies, while the first segment remained stable, the second increased its share from 50.2% to 57.9%.
The role of hegemonic center played by the city of São Paulo is explained, in part, by the offer in the municipality of all the services necessary for the operation of companies, with a wide and diversified support network for the conception, commercialization, promotion and distribution of products. . But its centrality can also be justified by the presence of a series of competitive advantages that the RMSP offers: modern transport, telecommunications and information technology infrastructure; skilled labor; developed business services sector; and proximity to large consumer markets. Added to this is a wide network of vocational schools and several higher education institutions, some with international recognition, in addition to many research centers and laboratories with production in various areas of knowledge.
software companies
Within the sector, the software subgroup presented, in the State of São Paulo, a spatially located distribution and, in 2012, accounted for 40% of the total jobs in the segment in the State. The city of São Paulo stood out as its main hub, with 46% of people employed in this activity. This expressive participation was concentrated in the activities of developing custom computer programs and consulting in information technology, which together added 31% by 65,700 jobs in the information technology and telecommunications software and services sector. The importance of the São Paulo software hub can also be gauged by the size of its companies: of the 25 companies with more than 500 employed persons located in the state, 19 were in the city of São Paulo.
Highlights in the interior of São Paulo
The software subgroup also stands out in other locations in the state. The Campinas MR is recognized on the national scene as an important technology hub, second only to the SPMR. The analysis of the jobs generated in the software segment in the MR of Campinas, between 2008 and 2012, shows the consolidation of this region as a center for the development of custom computer programs and the development and licensing of customizable computer programs. Large companies specialized in the development of custom computer programs, installed in Jaguariúna and Americana, added to those located in the city of Campinas, form the second largest contingent of people employed in this activity in the State of São Paulo.
São José dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto stood out, between 2008 and 2012, as potential information technology hubs in the near future. In this period, the participation of activities of development of custom computer programs and development and licensing of customizable computer programs in the total of the municipality of São José dos Campos, increased, respectively, from 7.8% to 17.2% and from 4, 4% to 10.0%. In absolute terms, these jobs increased from 145 to 804. In Ribeirão Preto, in the same period, the participation of development activities and licensing of customizable computer programs grew from 15.3% to 35.4% of the total of these jobs in the municipality, going from 126 to 808 employed persons.
High level of education of workers
According to the study, companies in the information technology and telecommunications software and services sector stand out for the high level of education of their workers. In 2012, while graduates and postgraduates represented 18.8% of total jobs in the State of São Paulo, in the sector this presence reached 47.4%. The segments with the highest participation of workers with this profile in relation to the total number of jobs in the selected municipalities were consulting in information technology (68.9%), wired telecommunications (68.3%) and development of custom computer programs (61.1%).
Public sector generates more job opportunities
It is worth mentioning that, between 2008 and 2012, the growth rate of vacancies offered in the selected courses was much higher in public institutions (93.6%) than in private ones (32.2%). Although the offer of vacancies in the selected courses has increased more in the federal public institutions in the State of São Paulo, this advance was concentrated, mainly, in the increase of vacancies in the Systems Analysis and Development course. In the state public network, also with an important growth rate in the supply of vacancies, in addition to the advancement in the Systems Analysis and Development course, there was also an increase in the supply of the Computer Science course. In addition, new courses were created for the sector: Network Administration, Databases, Computer Engineering, Technology in Software Development and Internet Use. click here to access the study.
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