If you were to consult a young man used to the troubles of the job search, this image would seem like science fiction: more than 50 companies giving tender eyes to potential workers to receive a little attention. However, that is what happened on Tuesday at the first Donostia Talent Fair (Guipúzcoa), within the framework of the 8th Innovation Week, which organizes Fomento de San Sebastián and closes today. The Gipuzkoan technology companies set up a stand in one of the rooms of the Kursaal, the emblematic conference center of the capital. In a single morning, 600 interviews were conducted.
Since the doors were opened at nine in the morning, dozens of young people in suits arrived with their CVs in hand to attend the interviews they had arranged with companies in the city’s technology sector or to take a look and decide on the go with which entities they wanted to try their luck. Fernando, 30 years old and graduated from ADE, had 10 interviews ahead of him when EL PAÍS spoke with him, although he did not hesitate to admit that he was really interested in four. In his case, since he finished his degree, he has not lacked work, but due to “a small disagreement” in the company where he worked, he has returned to look for a job. This fair has given you the opportunity to find an alternative.
Ilona has also taken ADE and on Tuesday she had five scheduled interviews. That morning he had just finished one that had lasted two minutes: “It was very express,” he commented with laughter at the end, although he thought aloud: “Let’s see if we’re lucky.” In the case of Sergio Sánchez, 28, he has just started looking for work, after having graduated in physics. “I’m starting to do interviews and I want to see how face-to-face with interviewers works. If, by the way, I find work, better than better ”, he commented upon his arrival at the Fair.
Among the companies that have participated in this first edition are Quirón Salud, Decathlon, Irizar and Tecnalia. Precisely from the latter, which is a scientific research center focused on “making new technologies something productive for companies”, the talent recruiter Vanesa Benito assured that they are looking for all kinds of technical profiles. However, none of the interviews held that day by this and the rest of the companies implied that the evaluation of these young people began to apply for the position; it was simply a first contact to begin to take them into account in the selection processes of each company.
Biotech Foods, a company that produces cultivated meat, insisted at the Fair that its objective is “to have a portfolio of interested people to take them into account” when new places open. “This fair is great because sometimes it is not easy to reach certain profiles,” said Mercedes Vila, the company’s technical director. Even so, those profiles demanded by the city’s technology companies are very varied: from administrative to PhD in engineering, and from university graduates to graduates in Vocational Training.
Although the perception that the day was being a success was almost general, some companies could not help but feel puzzled. Amaia Barreiro, head of talent at Ikor, which develops and manufactures electronic systems, regretted not having any arranged interviews and having only received a couple of resumes: “This is very stopped,” she commented with her partner. On the other hand, in addition to the continuous trickle of young people who came to the Kuursal, long lines of FP students walked among the companies and received information.
The San Sebastián City Council also had its own stand, from which it tried to guide young people who expressed their confusion or doubted about the positions to approach. For the city, the Fair represents another step towards the retention of local talent. Marisol Garmendia, Socialist Councilor for Economic Development, explained to El PAÍS that her objective is “to take advantage of the need for qualified employment that these companies have with our young people from Donostia, who have a high degree of qualification, both university and vocational training and connect the needs from both”. Although that is not enough. Íñigo Olaizola, head of Innovation Week, insisted that they must also make the city’s technological and innovation ecosystem attractive abroad, to attract foreign talent and from other regions.
In addition to job offers, the City Council offers 20 scholarships to work in world-class technology centers, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the USA. here. We go to the engineering school, for example, and we say: we are going to send people to MIT for these issues, are they interested? That is, we send them knowing that later there is a good chance that they will catch him here later, ”explained Olaizola.
Fomento’s strategy goes beyond trying to get qualified young people from San Sebastian to leave the city: it aims to make technological employment gain momentum and to also know San Sebastián for its innovation ecosystem, beyond the pintxos, La Concha beach or the Film Festival.
The success of the Fair may only be determined by time. Within three and six months, Fomento de San Sebastián will assess how many of the young people who participated in these interviews were hired, although some may receive an opportunity later or decide to opt for another job offer. In this city the youth unemployment rate (under 30 years old) stands at 14.8%; the national average for those under 25 is practically 40%.
You can follow EL PAÍS TECNOLOGÍA at Facebook and Twitter or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Sign in to continue reading
Just by having an account you can read this article, it’s free
Thanks for reading EL PAÍS
#fair #prevent #technological #talent #leaving #San #Sebastián