Madrid (EFE).- Since the outbreak of the pandemic, companies, especially those in the technology sector, have noticed greater difficulty finding candidates to fill their vacancies, a problem they attribute to a mismatch between training, university, and the needs of companies.
The experts from human resources companies consulted by EFE agree in pointing out the lack of STEM professionals -those who have studied scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical degrees- as the main reason for this difficulty in filling certain positions whose offer has increased at a greater than that of the candidates for them.
But they also talk about a change, still in its infancy, in the labor market as a whole that has led to a lack of professionals in sectors that require a lower level of training, such as hotels and restaurants, to a greater turnover in contracts and to employees assessing issues such as telecommuting to accept a position.
Sources from the CEOE employers consulted by EFE point out that the imbalance also occurs at a European level, because “in the next 5 years more than 5 million professionals are going to be needed who are not trained”, although they acknowledge that in Spain the situation is worsens and more and more companies show difficulties to hire.
Job offers advance 12% since 2022
According to the regional director of Adecco, Víctor Tatay, last February 194,000 job offers were published in Spain (seeking to cover 261,000 vacancies), a figure 12% higher than that of the same month of 2022, when the data for offers was reduced to 173,000.
“Despite the fact that the economy is a little colder, the level of published offers is very large,” Tatay points out in his conversation with EFE, and details that “more than 10% of the offers are in the commercial area, 9% in engineering, 8% in hospitality, 7% in industry and 6% in logistics and transport”.
And he indicates that the areas that they consider to be difficult to cover are technological and commercial, although he adds that “everything that has to do with STEM careers are positions that are difficult to cover.”
CEOE sources indicate that the mismatch between training and the needs of the company comes from the ecological and digital transitions and the new profiles they demand, as well as from a failure in the professional orientation of young people.
The regional director of Adecco points out that in 2022 practically all companies had vacancies and that more than half of human resources directors have difficulties hiring “positions of high responsibility” and those techniques that have to do with Vocational Training ( FP), hence he points to the new law and dual training as solutions.
In fact, the director of Communication and Studies at InfoJobs, Mónica Pérez, points out in a conversation with EFE that the greatest mismatch between studies and the labor market occurs in the university environment, while in vocational training there is a “complete adjustment”, of That is why he affirms that “more people trained in FP are needed”.
Needs beyond STEM
Pérez points out that the “A” is being added to the needs of STEM (in English Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers, in reference to the branch of Arts and Humanities, while its demand is also increasing, since that technological development requires making “more humane tools”.
“Humanistic professionals are beginning to join sectors that were previously purely technological,” summarizes Pérez, although he indicates that “there are still more deficiencies in the STEM part.”
Likewise, experts point out an increasing demand for “soft skills” in candidates, that is, non-technical skills that have to do with the ability to adapt, work in a team or organize.
But, beyond training, “there is a very important part that has to do with attitude and commitment,” says Tatay, who also points out a possible mismatch between what companies can offer and what workers are looking for, something that is generating greater turnover.
An incipient change in the labor market
“The first thing companies have to do is adapt to the moment the labor market is experiencing. In other words, if you don’t find candidates, you will have to find your life to adapt”, says Tatay, who indicates that there are already companies that are working on their image as an employer.
Pérez points out that, after the pandemic, “something is changing”, and stresses that, although salary is still the key to accepting a job, the next most important thing is flexibility to reconcile work and personal life, because it is not you want to “live to work”.
From CEOE they also point out this change in the labor market and give truckers as an example in the transport sector, a profession that is not in high demand despite the “attractive” salaries because it implies “being away from home for a long time”.