Demand for IT workers has doubled over the past five years, according to the latest VietnamWorks report on salaries, benefits and skills in the sector.

Another survey conducted by Hanoi Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in 2016 shows that, on average, each year Vietnam lacks approximately 78,000 IT workers.

The VietnamWorks report said demand for skilled technical workers would leap from 250,000 in 2016 to 400,000 by 2018 giving employers just a year to nearly double their workforce.

Eighty percent of the new positions would require at least two years experience, for which recruiters are willing to pay up to $1,160 per month.

Last year, only one in 10 respondents reported satisfaction with their remuneration, but the vast majority of employers say they’re willing to offer raises to talented employees.

Big data, cloud computing and cyber security will pave the way for talented Vietnamese developers. By September of 2016, around 330 start-ups had registered to offer web software development, according to data extracted from Geektime, one of the biggest tech blogs focusing on global innovation.

The number of tech start-ups is expected to mushroom in the next few years, especially as Ho Chi Minh City is chasing its Silicon Valley dream.

Vietnam has long been known as one of the world’s top software outsourcing hubs for giant tech companies like IBM, Microsoft and Intel. The country now aspires to become one of the top 10 global suppliers of software outsourcing and digital content by the end of the decade, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said during a recent seminar.

The survey queried 2,400 developers and 73 recruiters regarding over 50,000 IT-related job posts on VietnamWorks within five years.