Exploring Alma Career North: Navigating the Dynamic Baltic Market

Alma Career North, a prominent player in the Baltic job market, operates within the dynamic landscapes of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. We recently sat down with Agu Vahur, our director of Alma Career North, to delve into Alma Career’s strategies, its expansion plans, and its vision for shaping the modern world of work in the region. 

Can you provide an overview of the Career North market, including which countries are included and the overall size and dynamics of the market? 

Career North is operating on three Baltic markets: Estonia (CV.ee), Latvia (CV.lv) and Lithuania (cvonline.lt). Total population of these countries is close to 6 million inhabitants. Job boards market size over 20 million euros out of which Career North is making over 50%. As we have small open economies in Career North then last two years have been difficult due to economic downturn in our main export markets in Nordic region. The Russian war against Ukraine have caused severe shock in our economies: cumulative effect on inflation over 30% and decline in exports over 20%. The same time labour market has stayed stable, unemployment have increased only few percentage points and average salary even increased over 20% in last two years as employers see it strategically important to retain the qualified labour force in order to gain from economic growth in the future. Nevertheless Career North have had difficult times as demand for recruitment has declined in economic recession. 2024 is forecasted still to be year of stagnation in economy but we in Career North expect already slight growth in second half of the year. Our strong position still means that we continue to support companies and job seekers alike, fostering opportunities and growth within the region. 

What factors influenced Alma Career's decision to expand into the Career North market, and how do these align with current market trends in the region? 

Alma Career's decision to expand into the Career North market was driven by the unique opportunities presented in each Baltic nation. Estonia boasts a dynamic labor market, characterized by a skilled and tech-savvy workforce with multilingual abilities. The country's world-class education system emphasizes innovation, ensuring a steady supply of graduates equipped with cutting-edge skills. Additionally, straightforward labor laws and efficient hiring processes create an inviting business environment. In Latvia, Alma Career recognized a highly educated and multilingual workforce, offering a diverse skill set suitable for various industries. Competitive labor costs without compromising quality make hiring in Latvia an economically attractive option. The country's strategic location ensures easy collaboration with European markets, enhancing business connectivity. Government initiatives and a favorable regulatory environment simplify the hiring process for foreign companies. By choosing to hire in Latvia, you are investing in talent that bridges innovation, efficiency, and global integration. Similarly, Lithuania's highly educated workforce and skilled professionals offer adaptability and quick learning abilities. With a significant portion holding university degrees and proficiency in multiple foreign languages, including English, Lithuanian employees provide the flexibility needed for businesses. Lithuania's favorable business environment, rapid economic growth, strategic geographic location, and well-developed infrastructure make it an attractive destination for expansion. 

What types of clients typically utilize the services of Alma Career North in this region? Are there any specific industries or sectors that stand out? 

Our markets are small. In order to obtain critical mass as a marketplace and have adequate content for users on a small market one needs to be generalist job board. During the growth phase of economy there is a big variety of employers advertising with Career North. Different sizes of organisations and variety of industries, both private and public sectors. In the downturn of the economy big number of small and medium sized companies are becoming passive and not recruit actively. Bigger employers keep advertising but in lower quantities. The total number of job ads in society has been declining 30-50% compared to beginning of 2022. Career North has been able to bring to market additional services and increase average invoicing per client. That has helped to decrease the effect of decreased number of customers and job ads. We understand that different periods of time call for different products and services. Despite fluctuating needs, employers can trust and rely on our comprehensive suite of solutions tailored to meet their recruitment goals. 

Considering the diverse landscape of the Career North market, how does Alma Career envision its role in facilitating employment opportunities and shaping the modern world of work within this region? 

In the Alma Career North market, we position ourselves as the opinion leader in the labor market landscape. We are visible in media and we prepare loads of content marketing materials. That means that we notice trends on the market at very early stage and then act as a catalyst for the development of labour market. We bring forward best practices and best employers in our societies. We act ourselves as a role model on the labour market. 

In a competitive market like Career North, what strategies does Alma Career employ to differentiate itself and provide unique value to clients and job seekers? 

„Local heart“ is the name of the game. Our biggest and most threatening competitors are global platforms on most of the markets. Knowledge and presence on our local markets will be giving us an advantage. And doing it in local languages. Supporting and developing the local employment culture. Having well empowered and motivated teams on ground. Making sure there are better workplaces for everyone. You can find all our markets here! 

Looking ahead, what developments can clients and users anticipate from Alma Career as it continues to expand and evolve within the Career North market? 

Alma Career is uniting its product development in order to evolve functionality and the customer experince. This development will contribute to Career North success also.

The habits and expectations of users are continuously changing. Some of us have grown up with MS Dos cataloque tree: an anthem to deductive logic. Nowadays young generation is growing up with Tik-Tok that is built on inductive logic and they expect all ohter applications to follow inductive logic too. In very near future the usage of AI will grow to masses and that will change the users expectations again. We need to stay alert to these changes in user behaviour and adopt. With common jobboard platform we will grow our analytical and development capabilities that will help us to stay relevant to our users.  

Learn more about Career North here!