A report on the future of employment in Spain emphasises technology, tourism, health care, and energy

Times change and so do social customs and the composition of the productive fabric. Old trades disappear and new professions that respond to the needs of a society in constant evolution take their place. Adecco has just published a report in collaboration with Opinno in which it aims to provide an overview of employment trends that will emerge in the future on the basis of the evolutionary changes that are taking place. For this purpose, it has consulted 40 experts in human resources.

Among the main conclusions drawn from the study, we can stress the dissolution of the traditional division of the economy, which consisted of the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. As a result of this transformation, new sectors will lead to job creation in the future in Spain, such as technology and R&D+i, tourism and leisure, health care and well-being, and energy.

It is considered that the first will be the one that will generate the greatest number of jobs over the next five or ten years. Nine out of ten experts believe that the evolution of a country requires that it generate goods and services with high added value. The economic development of Spain will depend to a large extent on its ability to create scientific, technological and innovative knowledge and generate a leading R&D+i sector. This great challenge will be linked to digital transformation, the profitability of the sector, and the creation of startups.

Technology and investment in development and innovation will lead to the creation of new employment opportunities, especially those linked to biotechnology, e-commerce, and ICT. In this sense, at the beginning of the year, Randstad Professionals already included ICT professionals and Big Data experts among the most sought after profiles by companies in 2017.

The Adecco report ensures that tourism and leisure are two sectors that will continue to create jobs in the future. 80% of the specialists in human resources believe that jobs will be created due to the need to improve transport, society’s increasing demand for leisure activities, and the influx of tourists, which continues to grow each year.

However, despite the fact this is a consolidated sector in Spain, it will have to face new challenges, such as reducing seasonal employment, and businesses will have to adapt to new technologies.

Quality of life

Health and well-being will also be key elements in our future labour market. 75% of our respondents considered that this sector will experience great progress due, in part, to the ageing of the population and the increase in the demand for a better quality of life by society. All these variables will generate jobs to cater for palliative care, the elderly, nutrition, sports, psychological care, the pharmaceutical industry, and public health care.

Finally, energy will boost the labour market but not in the way we know today. Six out of ten experts believe that energy dependence and the need to find alternative energies, such as renewable energy sources, will boost job creation. There are three major challenges that need to be overcome in this sector: the environmental sustainability of the electrical system, the reduction of its social and environmental impact, and the management and certification of the energy system.

Other sectors that will continue to be at the forefront of job creation, according to the specialists consulted by Adecco, although to a lesser extent than the ones mentioned above, are industry and manufacturing, culture and creative industries, logistics and infrastructure, and social affairs and cooperation