The labor market is undergoing constant transformations. 2023 is no stranger, and there are fundamental changes both in what companies are looking for and in the situation of workers. A panorama in which the digital area emerges as the big winner, but which does not close the doors to anyone: recycling is possible and an almost safe bet, it is stated.
Today the hottest spot is in the technology sector. The lack of qualified professionals drives demand, supplies and wages. “Developers, cybersecurity and data analytics are growing a lot,” explains Salvador Sicart, director of technology solutions at Hays Spain. The digitizing push of the pandemic means that the most sought after today are the developers, throughout the chain. Front end, Java, Python… “So much interest is due to the fact that the sector already competes for talent on an international scale, and there is little female base weight, with less than 20% of vacancies being filled by women. That leaves fewer profiles to choose from. The demand for professionals in electronic commerce and renewable energy also stands out”.
And what do companies ask? There is a change from what was being seen, with a rebalancing of what are known as hard skills –technical skills and acquired experience– and soft skills –resilience, adaptation to change, communication, teamwork…–. Until this year, to find potential workers, the companies prevailed with the latter with a great advantage. Now they are almost even (53% and 47%). “The mismatch between supply and demand, with such specific needs, makes it necessary to seek curricular experience and experience in it no matter what,” says Sicart. Thus, in the digital sector, hard skills already rule (65%). “They seem reviled, but in the end the work has to be done and technical knowledge is needed,” says César Martínez, director of the master’s degree in human resources at Comillas Icade.
In any case, teleworking leaves its mark, which also highlights different communication skills, with more contact via WhatsApp or video calls. “Collaborative work capacity, flexibility, and leadership are needed to manage companies that operate physically and remotely,” says Martínez.
Finally, the great pandemic resignation has not permeated, but other phenomena such as quiet quitting (strike with crossed arms), loud quitting (dissatisfaction and the intention to change are openly discussed) and rage applying (massive sending of CVs to open vacancies). ). Up to 61% of professionals who question their career are dissatisfied with their company, according to data from Hays. With so much digital pull, to make the leap from one sector to another to recycle is not impossible. “A programming course does not require a previous degree. Logically you will start with a lower salary, but if you evolve and apply previous skills (hard skills), your subsequent evolution is strong”, they comment. “The question is: how much are you willing to lower your salary one or two years for a change, at the cost of later seeing it go up?”
In an environment of change, the importance of training is seen. “Given the need for continuous learning, companies are taking training strategies more and more seriously,” explains Nagi Pérez, head of the Udemy Business training platform in Spain. Based on her data, the most demanded are training courses related to software architecture, with an increase of 122%. It is followed by what is related to Ansible, a software that allows configuring servers, which grows by 59%. “Learning is necessary for all employees. Both perfecting acquired skills and learning new ones must remain throughout the race ”, she assures.
The war is not all in digital. The most repeated offers on job portals are for traditional positions. In January, the most searched for were telemarketers, sales representatives, real estate agents and dependents, according to data from InfoJobs. There are two worlds, this one with more turnover, that coexist and will coexist: “There can be a continuous journey of both. And that the economy take a more technology-oriented path – digitization, electric car – or more socially – green economy, ageing. Depending on that, some profiles or others will be needed”, says Martínez.
