The expansion of the technology and communication sector in Spain - including the digital sector - does not, however, prevent us from having a deficit of technical profiles to cover the currently vacant jobs; specifically, 200,000 jobs, as reflected in the 2022 Digital Talent Index and an Infojobs report recently presented by the Vass Foundation together with the Autonomous University of Madrid Foundation.

A paradoxical situation, since Spain has the highest rate of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) specialists with higher education among the large EU countries (82%). However, our country still lags behind in the proportion of ICT specialists compared to total employment. A transcendental issue, because the lack of workers causes the loss of opportunities and economic activity of over 2.3 billion euros.

In the fifth edition of this report, the panorama of young ICT specialists is analyzed. It provides insightful data on the digital talent gap, with 200,000 IT and communications vacancies identified last year alone, in a growing trend of hard-to-fill positions.

Prepared by 60 experts from 47 top companies and organizations and 29 Spanish universities; 104 university professors and 716 engineering students in final studies, the Digital Talent Index analyzes the difficulties of recruiting in our country, the shortage of profiles in different sectors and countries is also worsening in the labor market. A focus of concern that is reflected in a number of other works echoed by the Vass Foundation and the Autonomous University of Madrid Foundation, the case of the research carried out by Tech Cities Experis. "Spain needs more than 240,000 professionals for the IT sector, according to Manpower Group's Employment Projections for the first quarter of 2023, a sector that is at the forefront of job creation expectations."

The problem of technology companies

INE data observes this situation and, maintaining the digital framework, the National Institute of Statistics says that 61% of Spanish companies that were looking for ICT specialists had difficulties filling jobs in 2022.

The Vass Foundation document is also based on another Manpower study. And this goes further, and generally says that eight out of 10 companies in Spain have great difficulties in finding the right profiles. This is the worst figure in the last 12 years.

In this regard, the Bank of Spain already warned in October of last year about the percentage of national companies affected by the lack of workers, which is double what was recorded the previous year.

The KPMG/CEOE Spanish Economic Outlook agrees with the regulator, revealing that digital transformation remains a strategic priority for 59% of managers surveyed (67% believe it will be an investment priority for 2023) and 59% also admit to having problems. to attract the talent they need and 65% believe that talent shortages are putting their business goals at risk.

650,000 jobs this year

In other key terms, the report by Vass and the Autonomous University - whose presentation was The Objective - emphasizes that the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector has grown by 19.8% since 2020. In fact, Spain has 601,233 ICT specialists, an increase of almost 72,000 in the last year, which places our country as the most dynamic among the large European economies.

Although a historic 13.6% increase in the number of ICT professionals and technicians has been seen in 2022, increasing the base of ICT specialists to more than 600,000, "companies could create approximately 15% more jobs if the right profiles were available", stated Javier Latasa, Vass and Vass The CEO and President of the Foundation in the presentation of the research. "In 2022, 61% of companies looking for ICT specialists had difficulty filling vacancies, and it is estimated that up to 10,500 new technical jobs went unfilled in the same year."

As the study itself shows, the lack of profiles puts economic growth and employment at risk in Spain, with the loss of opportunities and economic activity of over 2.3 billion euros.

In the presentation of the study, Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, highlighted the maximum rigor of the report by the Vass Foundation and the Autonomous University of Madrid Foundation and "its value as an essential guide to deepen" and direct public policies to promote the talent and digital employment that Spain needs. He also emphasized that "the success of the digitization of our country will largely depend on the production and work model that will be in constant transformation it depends on being able to cover the gap left by one and, the key to achieving this balance is to anticipate the changes, trends and new scenarios that will come; hence the importance of training, the companies themselves in these professional profiles", he emphasized.