“75% of companies already admit to having problems filling their jobs,” warns Javier Blasco, director of The Adecco Group Institute. The industrial sector, transport, storage and technical architecture and engineering services concentrate job offers that are difficult to cover in Spain, according to the report Necessities of the labor market presented this Thursday by Adecco.
With 143,428 vacancies in the first semester, companies claim a lack of talent in the necessary technical knowledge, such as those related to technological disruption and new ways of working. “Competencies that are difficult to cover are in demand more and more,” Adecco collects in the study.
The transport and storage sector is where the most difficult-to-cover offers are registered, with 17.8%. This is followed by industry (15.9%), technical architecture and engineering services, and the activities of the headquarters (11%). The situation is especially difficult in Navarra with industry (65% of offers are difficult to cover), in Extremadura with retail trade (50%) or in the Canary Islands with transport and storage (50%). In Catalonia the first place is occupied by industry (18%) and in Madrid the activities of the central headquarters (22.5%).
The companies affirm that the most difficult position to fill is that of mechanic and machine fitter, with 26%, workers specialized in electricity and electrotechnology (24%), welders, sheet metal workers, blacksmiths and structure assemblers (21%). The least sought after are library employees or cultural, entertainment or sports technicians.
This carries over to offers. The most requested positions in the first part of the year were operators, with 30% of the vacancies. It covers the turner, milling machine, electromechanical, assembly operator, paint, sheet metal, welder, warehouse worker, forklift driver, cleaning worker, electrician, mechanic, refrigerator, carpenter, plumber, maintenance worker… Behind are the administrative, financial and auxiliary (21%) and the customer service group, telemarketers and commercials (10.5%).
Among the skills that are most requested is teamwork. To attract talent, companies offer more conciliation, flexibility, promotion plans and training, it is exposed. There are also salary increases. “In some cases there is talk of paying more to attract professionals. Without a doubt, the improvement in qualification, social dialogue and the shortage of talent in some sectors -misnamed lower value- will allow upward pressure on wages”, it is stated.
For now the problem is still there. “The tensions between supply and demand are not only in the shortage of necessary talent, but also in the shortage of available talent,” says Blasco. There are both qualification and market activation issues. In Spain there is a paradox, since it is a country with a high unemployment rate (13.3%). Hence, “training aims to be the backbone of our competitiveness as a country, and of the desired wage growth,” Blasco believes.
