Over the last decade, freelancing has experienced a growth of more than 40% in Spain, reaching 753,000 professionals. A significant increase is the result of the growing competitiveness and digitisation of the market, which has encouraged the opening up of the business fabric to this type of profile, which contributes to boosting innovation through their direct contact with the most cutting-edge technologies, their adaptability and their focus on results. When it comes to incorporating them, the needs that companies most frequently seek to cover are, according to these experts, flexibility (82%), specialisation o specific competences (80%) and efficiency (62%).
This is clear from the Freelance in Europe 2021' reportThe Malt in cooperation with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and which, after three years, analyses for the first time this new workforce at European level by means of the opinions of more than 2,300 freelancers from France, Germany and Spain. Specifically, the report analyses the situation of what the European Forum of Independent Professionals (EFIP) calls "freelancing", a sector that has grown at a faster rate than in the last decade. 40% in Spain, reaching 753,000 professionals. A significant increase is the result of the growing competitiveness and digitisation of the market, which has encouraged the opening up of the business fabric to this type of profile, which contributes to boosting innovation through their direct contact with the most cutting-edge technologies, their adaptability and their focus on results. When it comes to incorporating them, the needs that companies most frequently seek to cover are, according to these experts, flexibility (82%), specialisation or specific competences (80%) and efficiency (62%).
This is clear from the Freelance in Europe 2021' reportThe Malt in cooperation with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and which, after three years, analyses for the first time this new workforce at European level by means of the opinions of more than 2,300 freelancers from France, Germany and Spain. Specifically, the report analyses the situation of what the European Forum of Independent Professionals (EFIP) describes as the "most vulnerable" and "most vulnerable" groups. I-ProsThe number of highly qualified self-employed professionals specialised in the ICT sector now exceeds 3 million in the three countries analysed.
"As forerunners of new ways of working (agility; continuous learning, value-centric), freelance experts act as catalysts for the digital transformation of companies and the new work model. An interesting perspective given that more than 75% of employees surveyed by BCG after the first shutdown period in Europe considered digital a priority for their company to win in the new reality and thought their company should invest more in new ways of working."he says Vinciane Beauchene, Managing Director & Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
For its part, Vincent Huguet, CEO & Co-Founder of Malt says that "although freelancers have experienced a slowdown in activity in recent months, we have seen an uptick in external projects even before the end of the first confinement, especially driven by companies looking to accelerate their digital transformation projects. Companies are realising that it is the skills and abilities of independent consultants that they need now more than ever.
Unlike the workers in the GIG Economy86%, in which they are often wrongly framed, the 86% of the independent Spanish consultants of the Talent Economy feel satisfied with their job and three out of four (74%) would not return to work as permanent employees.97% has previous experience as a salaried employee of a company.
Precisely one of the trends in the labour market that is gaining momentum is the concept of the "Agentivitywhich defines the decision-making capacity of people, especially professionals, which is confirmed by the results of the study. Thus, among the main motivations The main reasons for freelancers to become self-employed were not the "lack of opportunities" or "in the meantime", but the ability to manage your time freely (79%), decide with regard to their professional development (69%) and choose where they work (78%). Today, eight out of ten (81%) claim to feeling valued for its projects; a figure higher than the European average (70%).
When asked about the main challenges they face in their day-to-day work, Spanish freelancers point out, among other things, the access to social security (65%) and to the housing (55%). This situation stems from the fact that, as they are self-employed, this type of professional is still often perceived as "unstable", even though their accounts are. In addition to these obstacles, there is the problem of negotiating with clients, the main barrier to 68% for both Spanish and European independent experts.
40 years old, male, six years of experience and resident in Madrid or Barcelona.
In Spain, the average age of freelance professionals is 40 years old, a figure very similar to the average of the three countries analysed (41 years) and they have an average age of 40. average experience of 6 years as freelance consultants. In terms of location, although remote working is part of freelancers' DNA, 8 out of 10 live in Madrid and Barcelona, close to their clients and professional networks.
By sector, three specialities account for the lion's share of the 85% of Spanish freelance consultants: Image and Sound and Graphic Design (37%), Tech & Datawhich brings together professionals such as developers, Data Scientist or DevOps (27%) and the experts in Communication and Marketing (21%). Professionals prepared for what, according to the 'Future of Jobs' report of the World Economic Forum (WEF), will be the new jobs that will be created in 2025, mostly related to disciplines such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, AI or e-commerce, among others.
A clear upward trend in the presence of women
In terms of gender, in Spain, men still outnumber women by a wide margin, with two out of three independent consultants being male. men (66%). However, the gender gap is not an obstacle specific to our country, as in Europe the percentage of men reaches 65%. Although it is true that there is still some way to go in this respect, the study shows a clear upward trend in female presence since 2016The largest increases were recorded in the euro area, with increases reflected in virtually all sectors. The largest increases are in the Project Managers and Agile Coacheswith 30% of women in 2020 (23% in 2016) and the field of Graphic and web designin which the 50% of freelance consultants are now women, up from 40% in 2016.
Experts in agile methodologies and more than 6 hours of training per week
66% of freelancers practice agile ways of working and, particularly in Spain, are used to working from home as 69% were already teleworking before confinement. This percentage is considerably higher than in France (59%) and Germany (45%), but it does not mean a disconnection from their clients, as, according to the study, they spend a 15% of their working day in the offices of the companies they work for.. The remaining 16% do so in their own or in coworking spaces.
In addition, Spaniards spend 6.5 hours a week on individual training, which is essential to continue developing their skills and thus be able to respond to the demands of an ever-changing environment where talent is quickly becoming obsolete. To do so, they mostly use books, videos and other traditional training modalities (75%), learning platforms (56%) and professional seminars (32%).
In a context in which the average lifespan of a skill is 5 years, the ability of companies and individuals to learn has become a differential factor in adapting, innovating and taking advantage of the opportunities of the new reality: "organisations must change their learning culture to gain a competitive advantage. The practical organisation of corporate learning must be completely reinvented, in a highly digitalised and hyperconnected scenario, ecosystems must be created, learning communities in which people can acquire new knowledge that they can immediately apply to their work by interacting with experts from their organisation or external collaborators, such as I-Pro's and other free-lancers who, due to the time they invest in their own training, are experts in many areas, especially those related to digital skills and new ways of working", says Pablo Claver, partner at Boston Consulting Group, head of the People and Organisation team at BCG Iberia.