The different vertices of the existing digital talent ecosystem in Barcelona are not always connected. Startups, large companies, talented developers, content creators and aspiring to enter the sector do not meet regularly. From the need to have a space to meet and match, using the slang of dating applications, Jump2digital was born. This is a fair organized by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, ??the foundation that works so that the Mobile World Congress leaves a legacy in the Catalan capital and its metropolitan area. After two editions at the Llotja de Mar, yesterday the third meeting was held, for the first time at the Montjuïc venue of Fira de Barcelona.
A change of headquarters that is explained by the need to grow. “La Llotja de Mar was too small for us,” says Jordi Arrufí, Talent Director at Mobile World Capital Barcelona. “We hope to exceed 5,000 visitors, which means doubling participation,” he notes mid-morning. In the afternoon the attendance record for the event is confirmed, with more than 7,000 attendees according to the organization.
At Jump2digital there are developers, programmers, technicians, large and small companies, training centers, universities, students, professionals with experience in the new technologies sector and others who want to take on this professional path. The meeting space is prepared with workshops, quick-format job interview areas, mentoring, technology demonstration areas and speaker conferences. Several of them are references, such as Cristinini, Luzu, Sara García or Nate Gentile, among others.
One of the main objectives of the event is “to help people make the professional leap to the digital sector,” says Arrufí. This is precisely what Daniel Castro did. For fourteen years he worked in the family delicatessen in a market in Barcelona until he got tired. “I had to get up very early, at five, and I didn’t know until what time I would work. He was well paid, but it wasn’t my passion either,” recalls this 31-year-old from Barcelona who grew up in Nou Barris.
Castro attended Jump2digital last year as a programming student. He now practices his new profession at Sinigual, a company in Igualada. “I am very happy with the change. “Before, I didn’t know what it was like to have free time,” he celebrates. The event, which lasted only one day, allowed him to “understand what companies want, something that helps.” During the day, around 1,000 job interviews are carried out and the organization estimates that between 25% and 30% of applicants will find employment.
“Talent that has digital skills is needed beyond the new technology sector. It no longer only concerns the IT area, it is needed in all areas of the business,” considers Susana Barrios, director of Recruitment at CaixaBank. According to her, “Barcelona is a pole of attraction for digital talent, which is sometimes very nomadic.” For this reason, she believes that a fair like Jump2digital helps position the Catalan capital as a “good place to work.”
Since the organization of the fair, areas such as artificial intelligence and video games have been reinforced. “Professional gaming is a sector with a lot of added value. Large production companies and independent studios meet in Barcelona,” says Jordi Arrufí. GameBCN is an incubator for projects dedicated to this field. “Being in Jump2digital gives us visibility,” says Josep Vilaplana, one of its members. “It also allows us to connect between developers and professionals,” he adds. “It is evident that the video game sector is growing in Barcelona,” says Vilaplana. At the same time, he warns that “it is not easy” for independent projects to find support from the sector. “But there are success stories,” he clarifies.
And among all this amalgamation of professionals and aspiring to enter the digital world, there are also curious people who come to the fair attracted by discovering technologies or by the lineup of speakers. In this sense, the mysterious Enigma King spent the entire morning playing simultaneous chess games without revealing his identity.
