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Марія БровінськаWork
13 March 2026, 20:11
2026-03-13
Juniors are no longer accepted: how Ukrainian IT companies are restructuring during AI transformation
Ukrainian IT outsourcers are changing their business model — and this is already being felt in the labor market, Forbes Ukraine has investigated. In particular, SoftServe is hiring fewer juniors, Ciklum and Capgemini are going beyond classic development, and Sigma Software has even launched a cofounding direction. The common denominator is that AI has changed not only the tools, but also the very logic of why clients pay IT companies.
Ukrainian IT outsourcers are changing their business model — and this is already being felt in the labor market, Forbes Ukraine has investigated. In particular, SoftServe is hiring fewer juniors, Ciklum and Capgemini are going beyond classic development, and Sigma Software has even launched a cofounding direction. The common denominator is that AI has changed not only the tools, but also the very logic of why clients pay IT companies.
June as the first victim of automation
«June does simple tasks, so it’s the first step for automation,» Forbes quotes SoftServe HR Renate Delporte. According to her, the company is deliberately reducing the hiring of junior developers, while there is a shortage of more complex positions.
The logic is simple: what used to take a junior developer several hours, an AI assistant can do in minutes. Paying a separate person for this no longer makes sense.
From outsourcing to solution providing
Ciklum and Capgemini are moving towards comprehensive solutions — where the company does not just write code for the requirements, but takes on the entire cycle: from architecture to scaling.
«In most projects, we act as a solution provider — this is a full development cycle from the formation of a technical solution to its implementation,» says Vitaliy Nuzhny, head of the SEE region at Ciklum. According to him, this approach allows us to build long-term partnerships instead of one-time contracts.
Capgemini Engineering has gone even further — beyond software as such. The company develops engineering services for chips, industry, telecom, and hardware, says Vlad Shimov, Head of Capgemini Engineering in Eastern Europe.
Sigma Software Group has chosen a completely different path. In June 2025, the company launched a co-founding direction: serial entrepreneurs can join the group, get a team, and launch a new business together. The initiator becomes the CEO and receives a share in the company.
Why it’s harder than it seems
The founder of InSoft Partners, Vitaliy Gorovy, whose holding company invests in IT service companies, says frankly: the transition from outsourcing to consulting or solution providing is a different type of business with a different culture, and most companies fail to do it. «It turned out to be more difficult than we thought. The marketing and sales processes are significantly different, even the developers will have a completely different mindset,» he says.
There is a growing demand for professionals who combine deep technical expertise with strong soft skills — sociability, flexibility, and, as Gorovy puts it, «an aggressive curiosity about new technologies.» There are few such people on the market.
Will developers disappear?
Despite everything, developers will not disappear. «Software surrounds us on all sides, it is only getting more and more, and increasing productivity does not mean a decrease in demand for engineering specializations,» says Shimov from Capgemini.
«AI is already writing code at the middle level,» or How an IT professional can avoid losing their job due to AI. Advice from the CTO of Mate academy, Co-CEO of Railsware, and engineer of Ciklum
Snowflake Ukrainian raises $6.4 million for Tower platform that turns AI-generated code into working production systems. Investors include Flyer One Ventures and Roosh Ventures
«Пастка початківця». 5 найпоширеніших помилок джунів на співбесідах та як їх уникнути
Напевно, кожен хоч раз у своєму житті переживав ситуацію, коли після співбесіди замість запрошення на роботу приходила відмова. «Як же так? Це несправедливо!», — чимало з нас корили долю і не розуміли, що пішло не так. Катерина Нікітіна, SoftServe IT Academy Recruiter, розповіла про п’ять найпопулярніших помилок кандидатів-початківців на співбесідах.
У 18 років «захантив» SoftServe, у 21 — відкрив власну компанію. Історія львівського IT-вундеркінда
Гліб Щур — випускник кафедри систем штучного інтелекту НУ «Львівська політехніка». На молодших курсах його запросила на роботу IT-компанія SoftServe, де він працював майже 3 роки розробником у R&D-відділі. А вже у 2021 році Гліб заснував власну компанію та став CSO у 21 рік. Розповідаємо історію львівського «самородка».
