According to "Business services sector in Katowice" report, the city of Katowice and Metropolis GZM are one of the five major centers in Poland, where the business services sector is developing dynamically, accounting for 3.0-3.5% of Poland's GDP. Over the last 4 years, an increase in employment of almost 70% has been observed in service centers in Katowice and Metropolis GZM. Experts' forecasts predict that the sector in Katowice will continue its dynamic development.

Despite the outbreak of the pandemic, investments in Poland have not been ceased. Foreign investors opening new service centers in Poland increase budget revenues and create new jobs, supporting the economy recovering from the lockdown. From 2016 until now, 30 new service centers have been created in Katowice. Factors in favor of the centers’ location in Poland are the favorable location, convenient time zone allowing to serve other regions and the market potential, e.g. in terms of the labor market and the number of educated employees in relation to other economies of the region of Central and Eastern Europe. Katowice can boast of all these features.

According to the report, 27,000 people are employed in service centers in Katowice and Metropolis GZM. Forecasts of trends in the labor market and the relatively high resistance of the industry to the pandemic shock indicate that by the end of 2021 the number of people working in the sector in the analyzed area will exceed 28,500 employees. Compared to 2019, the employment growth dynamics in 2020 was at the level of 11.5%, which is a better result than the indicator for the entire country, which amounted to 10%. There are 114 business services centers from 19 countries in total, operating in the area of Katowice and the GZM Metropolis. The vast majority of them (90) operates directly in Katowice. The main type of services provided in the centers are IT services (43.3% of the workforce), followed by SSC/GBS (33.1%), BPO (12.3%), R&D (3.7%) and other (7.6%). The centers in Katowice are characterized by higher average employment of 253 people than we observe in Metropolis GZM (241 people) and in Poland in total (225 people).

“The analyzes presented in the report confirm the high investment potential of Katowice, being the central city of the Metropolis with over 2 million inhabitants. With great satisfaction we observe that regardless of the pandemic, the growth rate in the sector remains at a high level. Especially now, when the global economy is in a tight spot, it is crucial to create attractive jobs that will influence young people's decisions on planning their future in our city, and thus, have a positive impact on the further development of the sector and strengthening the Katowice brand on the market of new technologies." -says Marcin Krupa, Mayor of Katowice.

Katowice in the eyes of industry and statistics

"Business services sector in Katowice” report is a subjective and objective ranking prepared on the basis of the ABSL 2020 survey results, responses of the management of the business service centers in Poland and statistics. Katowice and Metropolis GZM were highly rated - this only proves that the city authorities observe trends and respond to the needs of investors.” - says Wojciech Popławski, Vice President of ABSL.

In the objective ranking, Katowice and Metropolis GZM rank high in terms of: talent pool availability, accessibility to road and rail transport, accessibility to airports, cooperation with local universities, and as a consequence, in terms of the overall assessment of the business location. The results of ABSL survey conducted in November 2020 show that under the agreements signed between service centers and local universities, the cooperation covers: internships for students, support for the students and graduates’ recruitment process, development of competences well responding to the centers' needs and the shape of educational programs.

“We should also pay attention to the cost of the office space rental; in this respect, managers placed Katowice and GZM first. Katowice and GZM came second in terms of subjective assessment of cooperation with local universities, and third in terms of the level of wages. In the above categories, according to the results of the subjective ranking of managers, Katowice and GZM have comparative advantages over other cities." - adds Paweł Panczyj, Managing Director, Strategy & Partnerships, ABSL.

Within the Metropolis, Katowice is the clear leader. This is evidenced by the number of centers, employment and access to qualified workforce. In the long-term perspective, the increase in the intensity of city cooperation within the GZM will lead to enhancement of location and its investment attractiveness.

About Katowice:

Katowice, located in southern Poland is the heart of Metropolis GZM which has 2.3 million inhabitants. A friendly investment climate is created by a well-developed road network with sustainable transport, access to 3 international airports and a strong academic tradition. Linguistic abilities and multilingualism are confirmed by investors whose business centers provide services in over 30 different foreign languages. More: www.invest.katowice.eu

About ABSL:

The Association of Business Service Leaders represents over 200 of the world's largest companies, currently employing over 330,000 people in Poland. More than 1.5 thousand service centers located in more than 50 cities form a thriving ecosystem supporting innovative solutions implemented by international corporations. The goal is to build attractive and sustainable ecosystems that, thanks to this positive commitment, will create new, valuable jobs and responsibly develop investments and business in local communities.

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