POLAND BUSINESS SERVICES

The story of economic success and transition to democracy. Poland is the large country in Central Europe which can currently boast one of the longest periods of economic growth in the Western world – 25 years. Starting from 1989 Poland has undergone impressive transformation securing its position among the European democracies and most promising economies. This steady growth had visible impact on Polish city landscapes.

Business Services Sector, consisting of BPO, IT, SSC and R&D companies, is one of the fastest developing industries in Poland. It benefits from global trend of centralization of back office functions, where availability of skilled and dedicated employees together with labor costs arbitrage are the most important factors when deciding about future locations of business.

During the last 5 years, Business Service Sector has become one of the largest employers in the country, with employment in year 2016 exceeding 212,000 people working in over 930 companies with both Polish and foreign capital. The increase in the number of jobs in the last year exceeded 25%, which is more than in previous years. Current dynamic development of the industry is happening thanks to both new centres being set-up, as well as the consistent employment growth within already established ones. Currently, there are 37 centres employing over 1,000 people each.

The sector is on the rise from the perspective of its size, measured by the growing quantity of different types of centres and the increase in new job openings. Industry is also evolving, rapidly increasing the complexity and quality of provided services. Business Services Sector operates mainly (with 90% of workforce deployed there) in seven cities and metropolitan areas (MAs): Krakw, Warsaw, Wrocław, Katowice MA, Tri-city MA, Łdź and Poznań. In each of those, the sector employs over 10,000 people, with Krakw being the most saturated city, with over 50,000 people working there in that industry. Forecasts for the following years are still very good. In the near future, Poland will remain a first choice location for centres for companies operating in the European market in general. It is estimated, that the total number of jobs in the sector will grow to 300,000 in 2020.

Poland has embarked on an ambitious plan of investment in and modernization of the Polish armed forces. Combined with the statutory target of military spend at 2% of the GDP (one of the highest among NATO countries, and intended to be raised in not-so-distant future, the outlook for the Polish Defense sector looks auspicious. In 2017 alone, Poland plans to spend USD9.3bn1 on defense, 1.3% more than in record 2016. The budget for asset-related spending, such as armaments, military equipment, and investments in the NATO infrastructure, is USD2.6bn.

The Defense sector is one of the growth drivers behind the governments key strategic program: Plan for Responsible Development. A regular expenditure on Defense of around USD10bn per annum is expected in the years to come.
Polands military budget has a number of crucial components, including key priority areas and the Technical Modernization Plan (of the Polish armed forces). The former focus on development of an anti-missile defense system (Program Wisła), cyber security, investment in the Navy (acquisition of submarines; Program Orka), purchase of utility and attack helicopters (Program Kruk), build-up of the Territorial Defense (new military force), and enhancement of the command system and structure.

The TMP, while dovetailing with the overall key objectives (e.g. the AMD), additionally prioritizes investment in and technological advancement of air defense systems and armored and mechanized forces. Plans also include an increase in the number of troops up to 130 thousand (currently Poland has 49 thousand troops in the land forces; 16 thousand in the Air Force; 7 thousand in the Navy, and 30 thousand in other segments). Specific programs are designed to address all the key priorities.