Aragón has closed a historic year in attracting investments worth 40,000 million euros, which will be implemented in the coming years, with a global horizon of 10 years in the case of some of the big projects announced as the expansion of the Amazon Web Services region in Spain, whose epicenter is in Aragon.
It is not the only big project that needs to be built. In technology, there are also others such as those from Microsoft, Blackstone or Box2Bit, all linked to data centers. In addition, there is the battery gigafactory that the companies Stellantis and CATL will promote in Zaragoza in 2025 with an investment of 4.1 billion euros.
They are strategic projects to which other constructions in Aragonin this case, related to the dwelling. A segment in which the city of Zaragoza alone is promoting around 1,500 floors. We must not forget either the rehabilitation for which the Government of Aragon will allocate 25.8 million euros so that these rehabilitated properties in rural areas are used for social rental or the promotion of 455 homes in 38 municipalities within the Aragón More Housing Plan.
All these projects, apart from the infrastructure works and improvements in the main streets and squares of the Aragonese cities, makes it necessary to have professionals in the construction sector.
And that is where the problem begins because it is a aging sector in which generational change is lacking and in which hiring, generally speaking and except for some specific dates, has been decreasing, especially since the 2008 crisis, also known as the brick crisis, or the year 2020 with the covid-19 pandemic.
Aragon has 38,797 workers registered with Social Security in the month of June 2024, according to data from the X-ray of the Construction Sector in Aragón, from UGT Aragón. Of them, 27,234 are in the general regime, while 11,563 are self-employed. Since January 2022, the number of self-employed workers has stagnated, while the number of employees has increased by 9.4%, largely due to the arrival of large projects such as the Spanish region of Amazon Web Services, which has increased the employment in the sector and its activity generally to build its first three data centers in the Aragonese community.
But the problem is not so much the swing in hiring itself, but rather the x-ray left by the labor market in the construction sector. 12.81% of employees currently are between 55 and 59 years oldThat is, there are 4,969 professionals who will no longer be in the labor market in the coming years to retire. The figure is even higher if one takes into account that 6,195 are between 50 and 54 years oldwhich could make the situation even worse.
In fact, reports such as that of BBVA Research confirm that, Between 2007 and 2022, there has been an eight-year aging of the workforce in the construction sector until reaching the average of 45 years compared to four years in the rest of the productive sectors.
“The Aragonese construction sector faces the same challenges as the rest of Spain: the lack of generational change and the reduced presence of women in the sector,” says Sílvia Balcells, general director of Synergie Spain, to theEconomist
But it is a handicap that draws special attention in Aragon for its good evolution in recent months, since in July 2024 alone, 1,842 contracts were registered in the construction sector in the Aragonese community, which represents 2.45% of the contracts in the sector in Spain. Compared to the previous month, 1,604 contracts were recorded in this region, which represents an interannual variation of 13.39%. A percentage that shows a positive evolution, especially when compared to Spain, where growth has been 3.97%.
More than 5,000 professionals
The data thus reveal the almost immediate need for around 5,000 professionals of the construction sector in Aragon, simply due to its age, to which must be added the needs to build these large projects, which will be promoted in parallel to the construction of housing and infrastructure.
A lack of replacement is thus evident, since only 5.54% of construction workers, that is, 2,149 employees, are between 25 and 29 years oldand 7.03%, some 2,727, are between 30 and 34 years old, according to data from the UGT Aragón report.
Generational change is not only related to age. It is also with him uprooting produced since 2008 in the profession and sector. Furthermore, the crisis led many people to have to leave this sector and join others, but their reintegration did not occur with the reactivation of construction. This fact has led the sector to have to pull migrants, who represent 22.88% of the sector in the Aragonese community.
What can be done?
Attract talent This is necessary in the construction sector to undertake all projects and maintain its activity. Among the measures that can be implemented to make it more attractive to professionals is the incorporation of women. At the moment, only 11.56%, around 4,500 professionals, are women in Aragon. A percentage that contrasts with the 56.24% female representation in the service sector or 27.22% in the industrial sector.
In addition, other actions would be necessary. For example, according to the UGT Aragón report, it is advisable reconvert the sector. To this end, it advocates industrialization to, for example, stop using large quantities of materials such as concrete, cement, bricks or beams, among others, so that other construction processes are incorporated such as prefabricated systems that are produced in companies with better conditions, especially climatic and environmental. , and they install more quickly.
Another measure to take into account is the construction of sustainable buildings that improve habitability with less use of resources, in line with the requirements established by the European Union regarding energy efficiency in the real estate market from 2030.
It would also be necessary more trainingespecially in this transition process of the construction model, as well as the development by companies of a catalog of needs to design training actions and guide young people interested in this sector.
All of this must be linked to a improvement of working conditions of the sector, with a perspective of higher and more competitive salaries, among other aspects, as well as in the field of occupational health when regularly working under extreme temperatures. They are a package of proposals that would contribute to making the sector more attractive.
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