The U.S. tech industry faces a stark talent gap: hundreds of thousands of software roles go unfilled, even as tens of thousands of new computer science graduates enter the market each year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the shortfall could exceed 1.2 million developers by 2026. Globally, the shortage is even more acute: roughly 40 million skilled workers are currently missing, a gap projected to swell to about 85 million by 2030.
This experience gap is painfully clear: 87% of organizations report they already face or expect a tech talent shortfall. In practical terms, U.S. companies compete fiercely for the same small pool of senior engineers, driving salary inflation and delaying projects. A 2024 survey found 37% of U.S. managers plan to hire remote workers internationally in the next two years, largely because finding quality tech talent domestically is “difficult”.
Global hiring isn’t just a stopgap – it’s a strategic solution. By expanding the talent pool overseas, companies tap into experienced developers, scalable teams, and competitive costs that aren’t available locally. Below, we unpack the trends, data, and best practices behind this shift, and how U.S. businesses can responsibly build security-first engineering teams abroad.
U.S. Talent Crunch: Facts & Figures
- Rapid growth outpaces hiring. Strong digitization means the demand for software developers is surging. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects software and QA roles will grow 22% by 2030 (much faster than average for all jobs). Yet hiring that growth domestically is hard.
- Millions of unfilled roles. An estimated 1.4 million tech jobs in the U.S. were unfilled recently. Each year, an additional ~344,000 tech vacancies open nationwide. In other words, even if universities ramp up, it would take decades to catch up.
- Impact on the economy. Skill shortages aren’t just an HR problem. One analysis found U.S. tech talent gaps could shave $162 billion off economic output. Nearly 90% of businesses predict they’ll be negatively affected by IT skill shortages (IDC), potentially losing trillions by 2030.
Key takeaway: U.S. companies cannot rely solely on domestic hiring to meet their tech needs. There aren’t enough experienced engineers stateside, and training pipelines move too slowly. This is the “experience gap” – employers want veteran developers, but recent grads lack years of on-the-job expertisedeloitte.com.
The Global Hiring Trend
U.S. businesses are increasingly embracing remote and offshore hiring to close the gap. Recent surveys highlight this shift:
- Rising remote workforce. One study of 500 U.S. managers (mid-2024) found 54% still plan to hire fully remote employees this year, and 37% explicitly plan to hire international remote workers within two years. In other words, over one-third of U.S. companies are expanding hiring to overseas markets.
- Outsourcing is on the rise. About 68% of U.S. companies now outsource parts of their IT work to low-cost countries. Emerging destinations like Vietnam and Latin America are gaining ground, too. In fact, nearly 50% of companies plan to increase outsourcing in 2025, while only ~10% plan cuts.
- Staff augmentation surge. Rather than relocating whole projects, many firms adopt staff augmentation – adding remote engineers to in-house teams. Flexible models like dedicated remote teams and contractors help scale fast.
Key takeaway: The momentum is clearly toward global talent. Remote collaboration tools and acceptance of hybrid models mean the world is more “borderless” than ever. By tapping skilled labor abroad, companies access deep talent pools unburdened by local skill shortages.
Offshore Talent Hubs: India, Vietnam, LATAM
Which international markets are tech leaders looking at? The most well-known is India, but other regions offer competitive advantages:
- India: With an estimated 5.4 million IT specialists (World Bank data), India remains the largest talent reservoir. India’s major outsourcing firms (e.g., TCS, Infosys, Wipro) dominate the global market share. However, high demand in India is pushing wages up, and cultural fit can vary by project.
- Vietnam: Vietnam is a fast-growing tech hub. Local industry revenues topped $100 billion in 2022, and the country ranks in the top 10 global outsourcing destinations. Vietnam has over 1.0 million IT professionals today, with universities graduating 50,000+ CS and IT graduates each year. Notably, 80% of Vietnamese techies have 3+ years’ experience, meaning proven mid-level talent is abundant.
- Cost and quality: Developers in Vietnam are cost-effective, roughly 50–70% lower rates than the U.S. or Western Europe. Yet English proficiency is relatively high, and cultural alignment is good (many have European or U.S. project experience). Vietnam’s labor laws and infrastructure favor foreign partnerships.
- Government support: The Vietnamese government aims to grow IT to 10% of GDP by 2025, with tech parks and tax incentives. This has attracted foreign investment and incubated a startup scene, especially in AI, fintech, e-commerce, and mobile apps.
- Cost and quality: Developers in Vietnam are cost-effective, roughly 50–70% lower rates than the U.S. or Western Europe. Yet English proficiency is relatively high, and cultural alignment is good (many have European or U.S. project experience). Vietnam’s labor laws and infrastructure favor foreign partnerships.
- Latin America: LATAM is an increasingly popular nearshore option, especially for U.S. firms seeking similar time zones. Brazil alone has ~500,000 developers (Statista), and countries like Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile are rapidly training engineers. US companies value LATAM’s cultural affinity and English fluency. Costs are generally higher than Southeast Asia but still 30–50% below U.S. rates, and time-zone overlap with U.S. working hours eases collaboration.
- Eastern Europe: Countries like Poland, Ukraine, and Romania also offer strong tech talent. For example, Ukraine’s IT exports are expected to reach $5.5B by 2028. Eastern Europe is prized for high English proficiency and strong STEM education. (However, Western companies may have geopolitical risks or preferences to consider.)
Key takeaway: India remains the largest IT talent hub, but Vietnam and Latin America are rising stars, each with unique strengths. Vietnam, in particular, offers a compelling mix of skilled experience, low cost, and alignment with Western clients.
Why Global Teams Work: Benefits and Best Practices
Hiring across borders involves challenges (culture, communication, legalities), but the advantages are compelling when done right.
Benefits of tapping offshore/remote talent include:
- Experienced, vetted talent pool. Instead of betting on the next batch of fresh grads, companies gain access to seasoned engineers. For example, many Vietnamese IT professionals have worked 3–10 years in real projects. By partnering with specialized staffing firms such as AppGenie that vet the top 5% of developers, U.S. firms can onboard proven talent quickly.
- Faster, flexible scaling. Time-to-hire shrinks dramatically. Instead of months to recruit, travel, and relocate, a U.S. company can ramp up a new offshore team in weeks. This agility is crucial for rapid growth or launching new products. Companies report that outsourcing can cut time-to-market by ~25%.
- Cost efficiency. Offshore labor rates are often 50–90% lower than U.S. equivalents. This isn’t just about cheap coding – it means the same budget yields a larger team or more senior skills. Deloitte and other reports note that 72% of global outsourcing spend is on IT services, driven largely by the labor arbitrage benefit. Savvy companies reinvest these savings into growth and innovation.
- Time-zone coverage. Teams in Vietnam or India overlap part of the day with U.S. hours (Vietnam is GMT+7, for example). With a well-planned schedule, this can effectively extend the workday or allow “follow-the-sun” engineering. Some companies even spin up satellite development centers abroad to cover 24/7 support or faster iteration.
- Diverse perspectives. A globally distributed team can bring fresh ideas and varied experience. Developers trained in different academic and corporate cultures often propose novel solutions. Plus, building an inclusive, international workforce can improve employee morale and retention at home.
Best practices for managing global engineering teams:
- Robust onboarding & management. Treat offshore hires like internal staff. Provide clear project briefs, communication channels (Slack, Jira, etc.), and regular check-ins. Use agile processes (daily stand-ups, sprint demos) to keep remote engineers integrated.
- Compliance and certification. Ensure your offshore partner is compliance-savvy. Top providers (like AppGenie/DigiEx) hold certifications such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2, which means their offices and processes meet global security standards. They can also handle legal requirements like GDPR or industry-specific rules (e.g., PCI DSS for fintech) on your behalf.
- Cultural alignment. Invest in cultural training. Encourage empathy through video meetings, occasional visits, and team-building. Make your expectations clear (e.g., code quality, documentation standards). Many offshore firms now specifically select engineers with proven communication skills.
- Dedicated teams & long-term partnerships. Hiring one-off freelancers can be risky. Instead, work with a trusted offshore partner who manages payroll, HR, and retention. This creates stability: engineers see a career path, loyalty grows, and turnover drops. For instance, clients of outsourced teams report 93% satisfaction, and many continue the partnership long-termdevico.io.
Security and Compliance: Non-Negotiables
In fields like fintech, security and compliance are paramount. Even in general tech, data breaches can be devastating: the average cost of a data breach is about $4.45 million. Leading offshore partners recognize this. They embed security “by design,” employing measures such as:
- Code scanning and testing: All code is run through automated SAST/DAST tools, with any vulnerabilities fixed immediately.
- Encryption: Sensitive data (and sometimes code repositories) are encrypted at rest and in transit.
- Threat modeling: Teams routinely analyze new features for potential attack vectors (especially important in financial services or healthcare apps).
- Access controls: Developers are given only the minimum permissions needed (principle of least privilege).
- Certifications and audits: Partners undergo regular audits. For example, a partner might hold ISO 27001 (security management), SOC 2 (data handling controls), or even PCI compliance (payment systems).
By pushing these requirements down the vendor chain, U.S. firms can confidently use offshore teams. The key is choosing a partner who takes on compliance work – handling contracts, data policies, and local labor laws – so clients don’t have to.
AppGenie: Your Full-Service Global Partner
Of course, expanding overseas has challenges – but companies don’t have to navigate them alone. AppGenie (powered by DigiEx Group) specializes in building high-performance engineering teams in Vietnam for U.S. and European clients. Rather than a marketplace or temp agency, we act as a full-service partner:
- Vetting top talent: We recruit the top 5% of developers (backend, mobile, AI/ML, DevOps, QA, etc.) across Vietnam’s tech hubs. Each engineer is assessed not just on code skills but also on communication, security mindset, and cultural fit with U.S. teams.
- Handling admin and compliance: AppGenie takes care of contracts, payroll, benefits, and local labor laws. We ensure each hire is 100% compliant – clients don’t need to worry about visas, taxes, or intellectual property issues.
- Security-first culture: Our teams adhere to rigorous security standards (ISO 27001, SOC 2). We enforce secure coding practices, regular audits, and private networks so your IP and data are protected.
- Time-zone synergy: Vietnam’s GMT+7 time zone overlaps nicely with U.S. West Coast mornings, allowing same-day collaboration. This “follow-the-sun” approach means problems can be debugged overnight or features implemented before local morning.
- Retention focus: By providing career growth, training, and benefits locally, AppGenie retains engineers longer. Clients gain stable teams, not revolving-door contractors.
In short, partnering with AppGenie lets companies scale faster with confidence. You get the advantage of offshore talent without the usual headaches, while bolstering compliance and security. (AppGenie’s customers often quote 25–50% reductions in time-to-hire and significant cost savings over U.S. staffing.)
Ready to explore global tech talent? Learn how AppGenie can help you assemble a secure, high-performing offshore team in Vietnam. Our experts handle the legal and operational heavy lifting so you can focus on product success. Talk to us about building your next engineering team – and start turning the talent shortage into an opportunity for growth.
