Lithuania is the happiest country for people under the age of 30, according to a recent report. Although one of Europe’s smaller countries, there are a number of reasons that Lithuania speaks to younger generations, ranging from a healthy work-life balance and rich culture to a high quality of living.
In particular, Lithuania can appeal to the most recent generation of tech talent, thanks to its innovative startup sphere and long-term potential for people looking to build a career and raise a family there.
Here’s why young tech employees should set their sights on Lithuania.
Fulfilled personal and professional living
Tech companies often talk about striking the right balance between personal and professional, but often the organisation’s location is what really dictates that equilibrium. One of Lithuania’s most appealing qualities is its harmonious living — cosmopolitan cities and picturesque nature, sophisticated technology and family-friendly attitude, multicultural living and a strong sense of identity.
Indrė Laučienė is the head of International House Vilnius, a support service for foreign talent relocating to Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital. “Here, I’m able to have a fulfilling career, raise a family and still find time to enjoy nature,” she says.
It’s intuitive and uncomplicated — everything works smoothly without stress here.
“In Vilnius, happiness transfers easily to the world of work by striking the right balance between professional growth and personal well-being. For me personally, it’s being able to drive after work to the forest and just take a walk,” she adds.
Gintare Verbickaite, CEO at Unicorns Lithuania, a startup association that unites more than 120 startups from early stage to later-stage unicorns, agrees. “Lithuania strikes a perfect balance between modern living and access to nature,” she says. “Vilnius is a clean, green, safe and comfortable city that provides world-class cultural events, excellent shopping, vibrant nightlife and exciting career opportunities.”
International tech workers also share the sentiment. Madu Melo is the country manager for Brazil at Nord Security. She moved to Vilnius three and half years ago and has been impressed by Lithuania’s family-friendly environment. “The work-life balance that companies advertise are real,” she says. “At Nord Security we have a kids room where parents can work from if they want. We also have several activities for kids during school holidays […] It doesn’t feel like a workplace but like a huge family supporting each other in a beautiful community.”
Laučienė sums up the balance of Lithuania: “It’s intuitive and uncomplicated — everything works smoothly without stress here.”
“The career ladder? Well, it’s there for climbing”
Young tech workers are naturally ambitious, and they want options to move abroad and advance their careers. Lithuania offers both.
Prominent tech players like Vinted, Tesonet, Nord Security, Devbridge and many more have offices in Lithuania. The wealth of companies has established a rapidly-evolving tech landscape for workers to participate in.
These companies attract talent with their innovative work environment. They encourage innovation and career growth.
“Vinted has been voted as one of the most desirable places to work for several years in a row,” says Verbickaite. “The cloud computing optimisation platform Cast AI was founded in Lithuania only five years ago [and] last year it raised $55m in funding. And according to Dealroom data, the combined valuation of Lithuanian startups grew sevenfold to €13.7bn between 2018 and 2023.”
“These companies attract talent with their innovative work environment. They encourage innovation and career growth. They invest in continuous learning, providing access to courses, mentorship and opportunities to work with the latest technologies,” Laučienė says.“The career ladder? Well it’s there for climbing — with plenty of room at the top for [young workers].”
Melo echoes the emphasis on development among businesses in Lithuania. “Tesonet and Nord Security have paid intern programmes and several programmes for any employees who want to grow in their career (or even change careers inside the company). Several of these are focused on IT professionals.”
Driving the innovation infrastructure
It’s not just that Lithuania has the right work-life balance and career-building tracks. The country is also a hotbed for disruption.
“Lithuania is thriving on tech companies,” says Melo. In the startup space alone, the country has more than 1,000 companies working in business software, fintech, healthtech, deeptech and sustainability.
Moreover, the Lithuanian government has implemented initiatives to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation. There’s a startup visa for non-EU founders; tax benefits for early-stage and research-intense companies; subsidies, grants and co-investment funds; business and academic partnerships; and a host of accelerators, coworking spaces and meetups to boost startups’ integration in local and global events.
Lithuania offers robust infrastructure to support innovation — we just need more talent to fuel it!”.
For Verbickaite, Lithuania has a fertile foundation for innovation. “The country boasts state-of-the-art labs, innovation hubs, corporate initiatives designed to collaborate with startups and government programmes that actively support early-stage researchers and entrepreneurs,” she says. “Lithuania offers robust infrastructure to support innovation — we just need more talent to fuel it.”
Along the way, Lithuania has a selection of tools to help newcomers carry out logistics and adjust to life in the country, meaning they have more energy and time to focus on innovating. For one, International House Vilnius — part of city agency Go Vilnius — streamlines relocation and provides help when applying for resident permits, social security registration and health insurance for young professionals. It also offers Lithuanian language classes and networking events to find other expats and local communities.
“By combining practical support with career opportunities, and a welcoming society, [International House Vilnius] ensures that young tech professionals can thrive long term, setting both them and the nation on a path to continued success,” Laučienė says.
Being happy and staying happy
Making young people happy is a talent itself. Keeping them happy can be trickier. Yet Lithuania seems to have mastered both. With a unique blend of work-life balance, professional development and innovation, Lithuania invites a healthy, motivated and curious workforce. And, as this young workforce grows, it will make the factors that attracted them in the first place standard practices.
The result? A cycle of happy young people coming to the country.
As Melo says: “For me, there’s no better place to be — right now — besides Lithuania.”
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/lithuania-tech-talent-brnd/
