While tech companies in America suffered major layoffs in the past year, companies in Tijuana created a tech boom. Tijuana’s tech sector has been growing steadily since the 2010s, and the pandemic sped up the trend.
The pandemic put a high demand on tech workers who could help companies shift to a remote-work environment and capitalize on the influx of online shopping. So companies increased their workforce. But they’ve laid off thousands of workers and have gone back to pre-pandemic staffing levels.Businesses in various sectors are looking for IT workers from Mexico, not just tech companies.AdvertisementITJuana is riding the wave of Tijuana’s tech boom.
The company operates out of a luxurious office space modeled after a Silicon Valley tech company. It features an open floor plan with collaborative workspaces, free food, a flexible work-from-home policy, and board games to keep workers entertained.Omar Parra, engineering director with ITJuana. He said Mexico has prepared a workforce able to take these tech jobs by pushing students into college programs that are equivalent to the U.S..But there are also signs that Tijuana can’t keep up with the demand.
“Students in the last year of university can apply for part-time programs with us,” Parra said. “We actually put them in real positions, real jobs, real teams and real projects.”The company has what Parra calls a build-to-transfer model, which means businesses that contract with ITJuana have the option of formally absorbing the workforce.
“We need cheap labor because once people learn that we pay shit and treat our IT people like shit, they don’t want to work for us anymore.”