The labor market faces a significant challenge due to the shortage of human capital specialized in new technologies. A problem that goes beyond our borders. In fact, both in Spain and in the rest of Europe, the number of ICT specialists (professionals in information and communication technologies) is below what is necessary.
With the goal of being able to solve the lack of qualified labor, the European Commission has set as an objective achieve that 10% of total employment in 2030 corresponds to ICT specialists. This in Spain, based on the latest employment data available, translates into adding just over a million workers to the labor market in the next six years if it is taken into account that, according to data from the UGT union, this 2024 has been achieved surpass the million jobs milestone tech in Spain.
The objective set by Europe will not be achieved if the imbalance that exists in the supply and demand of these jobs is not resolved first. Looking again at UGT data, less than 14% of Spanish companies with more than 10 employees have hired, or attempted to hire, an ICT specialist in 2024. In fact, 84% do not have an expert in new technologies. technologies in your workforce. This confirms the latest Eurostat data, which indicated that 7 out of 10 Spanish companies have a low or very low digital profile.
Less than 14% of Spanish companies with more than 10 employees have hired, or attempted to hire, an ICT specialist in 2024
This is due, in part, to two reasons: the type of Spanish business fabric, where SMEs predominate, and the working conditions offered. This has caused many ICT experts to have been forced to look for new job opportunities. This is the case of Benito Rodríguez Bouza, who although he is trained in information and communication technologies, has been working as a strategy advisor for years. “Many workers are forced to leave this field for several reasons. The first, the working conditions. There is a great gap between the conditions offered here in Spain and those available in countries such as England, Denmark, Germany or Holland. There is a huge difference for doing exactly the same thing,” he explains to elEconomista.es Rodríguez Bouza.
Furthermore, it also goes against him that It is a sector “that ends up exhausting itself, with a syndrome of burnout quite high because it ends up being quite a monotonous job. These two conditions are critical to explain why workers migrate to other sectors or countries,” he alleges.
The structure of the Spanish business market, made up mainly of SMEs, does not help either. They have more difficulties when investing in new technologies due to their high cost. “In Spain we have the entire innovation and product development part as a pending subject. We always talk about the transformation of the economy, but we continue living off tourism and brick. We are not one of the countries in Europe that invests more in innovation, which results in the famous brain drain. We must also take into account that the Public Administration has not promoted innovation either,” comments Josep Capell, CEO of CEINSA, a firm specialized in Remuneration and Human Resources Consulting, and professor of the Master of Human Resources at the University. Autonomous of Madrid.
The regulatory framework is also essential to encourage the creation of this type of employment. That is why the Digital Spain 2025 Agenda committed to training 20,000 new specialists in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data analysis. Subsequently, in the 2026 update, the Government has established that 80% of the population has basic digital skills, half of them women.
The Digital Spain 2025 Agenda committed to training 20,000 new specialists in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data analysis
But the objective should not only be to create employment, how it is created must also be a priority for institutions. “We can reach 10% of ICT employment, but if we create it we will do it in such a way that we will be the cheap production factory in Europe. The ideal would be that we reach that ICT job with Spanish companies, capable of competing in the world. We should not only look at the number, because we will not be far away, but on the other hand I have my doubts if we will be able to create quality jobs,” details the CEO of CEINSA.
Bet on education
In order to achieve the 10% goal, it will be essential to promote the promotion of STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and continuous training. And it is that Education plays a key role in this field. Although the data indicates a growth in the number of graduates in these fields, there is still not an adequate number of ICT professionals.
Training in this field should begin from an early age. It must be taken into account that the offer of subjects related to Mathematics, Technology and ICT represents between 10% and 12% of the school curriculum and only one in ten universities offers the possibility of specialization in these subjects. Furthermore, an added problem in Spain would be the high dropout rates from these studies in the first year of the degree.
“We have training problems in STEM careers. Between 20% and 25% of students in Spain opt for engineering or technology careers and among them there is a high percentage of dropouts. Few enter and even fewer leave,” denounces Rodríguez Bouza. Part of the solution is to focus on vocational training in general and the dual method in particular.one that combines education in the educational center and in the company. However, this still registers implementation rates well below the European average. In Spain, only 4% of students take dual vocational training while the European average reaches 38%, with countries like Germany reaching 80%.
Between 20% and 25% of students in Spain opt for engineering or technology careers and among them there is a high percentage of dropouts
“Very important steps are being taken towards the goal of reaching 10% of ICT employment and training is key here. We are noticing a growth in the demand for information and communication technology profiles,” adds Juan Luis Moreno. , partner & managing director of The Valley in statements to this medium.
Although the dropout rate both at the level of vocational training and at universities is very high, the reality is that professionals who finish their studies in this field seek continuous training with the aim of finding better jobs. “At the postgraduate level, We notice more and more demand from professionals themselves who want to continue training and the programs that have the greatest demand are precisely those most linked to technologies,” details Moreno.
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