The continuing exchange instability in Argentina is not only reflected in the stampede of savers seeking refuge in the dollar. Also in the number of professionals who bet on freelance platforms to perform work abroad, remotely, and thus make a good income in "hard currency."
From the sites that foreign companies use to search for local talent, they assure iProUP that this labor modality doubled as a result of the crisis. Moreover, they expect this upward trend to accentuate.Half of those who work in a freelance way already export their services, seduced by the collection of greenbacks. According to market sources, some 800,000 Argentines work abroad using this option.
One of those sites that work as a "bridge" with the world is Workana, which has more than 300,000 users in the country, equivalent to 18% of its total users. It also has activities in Brazil and Mexico. Freelancer, one of the global leaders, exceeded 460,000.
"The independent professionals that operate remotely are part of the creative industry and work mainly in areas such as Marketing and Sales, Design and Multimedia, Content Creation and Information Technology (IT) and Programming," he says. iProUP Guillermo Bracciaforte, co-founder of Workana.How much do you charge
By observing the remuneration they obtain, it is clearly understood why they are interested in joining these platforms. Argentine professionals linked to the IT sector can receive between $ 250 and $ 300 for a project that takes about five hours of their time.
For other types of activities, the breakdown is as follows (for a five-hour dedication):
- Marketing and sales: $ 150 to $ 200
- Project manager: $ 125 to $ 150
- Contents and translations: $ 45 to $ 70
- Design and multimedia: $ 75 to $ 90
- Administrative support: $ 40 to $ 75
- Financial Support: $ 100 to $ 150
"The platforms or marketplaces of freelancers, both generalists and professional specialties, allow talent to be truly global. More and more Argentines are exporting their services remotely, but based in the country," Juan Pablo tells iProUP Peries, manager of Randstad Inhouse Services.In a dialogue with iProUP, Peries adds: "When a sharp devaluation occurs, those who provide services to foreign clients achieve greater exchange competitiveness. Depending on the market conditions in which they compete, they can apply it to have cheaper rates or achieve greater profitability for your work. "
"The form of freelance hiring has been rapidly gaining ground," says Miguel Terlizzi, president of HuCap, to iProUP. He adds that this not only applies to jobs commissioned abroad but also to companies located in the country.
The growth in demand is reflected in positions linked to the so-called "digital economy" or "industry 4.0", characterized by the lack of qualified personnel. For example, design professionals, social network administrators, quality controllers, systems, support and infrastructure analysts, software developers, among others.
According to Freelancer, the most sought after professionals are those who are trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) because they are the ones that most adapt to innovation and can assist companies in their digital transformation.
"Foreign companies come to look for Argentine talent, which can offer very attractive contracting conditions such as payment in dollars. This makes it difficult for local firms to compete. They also enjoy the benefit of working for results in a way remote, something highly valued, "says Miguel Terlizzi, president of HuCap."In a large number of countries the standards for certain jobs are up to 50% higher than in Argentina. That is why it is convenient to export this type of work. We have a competence center related to eticketing solutions and from here we serve mostly in new technologies ", describes iProUP Juan Dabusti, CEO Worldline.
For his part, the co-founder of Workana points out that "although companies may know that the Argentine market has a different price, they also have larger budgets than that of local customers."
"The fight for qualified talent causes the payment for the same activity to be generally greater with the foreign client. Even, Argentine professionals work directly with dollar prices and those who are harmed are local contractors," he says.
However, after the new exchange restrictions, a range of doubts is opened with regard to professionals who perform small jobs.
"The freelancers who lend to a subject from abroad and the platform deposits him, falls within the exchange restrictions, so they will have to liquidate the currencies in the exchange market", highlights the accountant Sebastián M. Domínguez, of SDC Tax Advisors
Martin Kalos, chief economist at Elypsis, agrees on this point, who states that "those dollars must be sold in the market, because all exports are obliged to liquidate currencies, including foreign exchange exports."Dominguez adds that, equally, there is only one "there are difficulties in this operation, because there are some platforms that give them a prepaid card, in which they deposit the funds and the freelance withdraws it from an ATM or spends. For now there is no rule let him foresee it. "Valued and wanted
"The Argentine talent is recognized globally, in all types of fields and companies. Their creativity, flexibility and high level of specialization combine to be highly demanded abroad," says Sebastian Siseles, international vice president of Freelancer.com, to iProUP.
According to the experience of this platform, a point in favor for those who aim to collect fees working abroad is the command of English, since the three countries that require more professional albicelestes are the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Spain appears in fourth place.
The data takes special relevance if one takes into account that one of the most requested works is the writing of all types of content: academic, reports, blogs, research and translation, among others.
According to Argencon, the export of services has a value of US $ 6.4 billion in all items. In this group, the knowledge economy dominates the scene, being the one that generates the most bill and jobs, including highly-quoted specialties, such as biotechnology or bioscience.
More and more specialists in Artificial Intelligence, agrotechnology, fintech, blockchain, big data, video games, animations and digital marketing are also being asked."The high qualification of Argentine professionals allows them to participate in very relevant projects. They are characterized by adding value with their contributions to the design of solutions," Juan Pablo Cerva Fris, HR manager for Eventbrite in Latin America, points out to iProUP.
"They are not limited to a specific task, rather they participate in the decision-making process and their opinions are usually highly valued. In some cases, their responsibility includes leadership tasks, even in technical tasks"
Cerva Fris warns that high foreign values complicate contracting in the domestic market, since the price reference becomes very difficult to match. In this framework, local firms must appeal to other tools.
"The Argentine companies offer certain possibilities of professional development and a series of corporate benefits, such as premium prepaid medicine plans, life insurance, flexible schedules and additional compensation in the workspace itself," adds Cerva Fris.
Against this trend, in Apex America they base 90% of their business on the domestic level. "The fundamental reason is that, beyond the last devaluations the conditions for export improved, the unpredictable exchange rate hinders long-term relationships with foreign clients," Patricio Ríos Carranza, CEO of the company, tells iProUP.
For now, professionals find in these platforms the possibility of escaping Argentine risk and making part of their income in hard currency.