Spain is one of the ten most attractive countries for attracting and retaining digital talent, one of the most in-demand professional groups in the world and, according to a new study, one of the most attractive countries in the world for attracting and retaining digital talent. new study made by Boston Consulting Group and The Network, an international alliance of job sites in which the following are participating InfoempleoThe digital workforce is also one of the most willing professional groups to relocate. More than two-thirds of digital workers are open to moving to a different country to advance their careers, with the US being the top destination for digital experts worldwide and London their preferred city. In addition, Spain is considered by these profiles as the eighth most attractive country to work in, and Barcelona the fifth most popular city.
Jorge Guelbenzu, CEO of Infoempleo, says: "In Spain, new job opportunities are being generated in functional areas where digital transformation is already a fact. However, there is a shortage of national professionals with the specific skills and specialised training to carry out these functions. For this reason, companies sometimes have to look abroad for candidates to fill certain vacancies and, in light of these data, it is clear that these professionals have our country very much in mind to develop their careers".
Pablo Claver, BCG partner in Spain in charge of the People and Organisation team, highlights that "attracting digital talent directly influences the success of a country's economy, and contributes significantly to positioning itself as one of the leaders in digital development. As well as companies, governments and institutions can carry out an analysis of the demand and supply of digital talent in their country (strategic workforce planning) to plan geographic workforce plans and develop strategies to become a hub for digital experts. The data shows that Spain has the potential to be a global benchmark in attracting digital talent, which is a competitive advantage.
The report Decoding Digital Talent is based on a sample of 27,000 surveys conducted in 180 different countries among professionals with expertise in areas such as programming and web development, mobile application development, artificial intelligence, robotics and engineering.
The report finds that 80% of digital experts hold a university degree. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, their main preference is to work for a large company, not a small one. startup. Furthermore, 68% are men, only 9% of these profiles are in senior management and 41% work in positions without management responsibilities.
Digital experts have skills in areas where demand is growing significantly and urgently, specifically in forms of agile (18%) and in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (14%).
67% of digital professionals are willing to relocate for career advancement, but interest varies greatly by country. More than three-quarters of experts in India and Brazil would move for work, while in countries such as China, fewer than one in four would move for work. By comparison, when considering other professional groups beyond digital, the percentage of those willing to relocate for work is significantly lower, with only 55% making the decision to relocate.
The willingness to relocate is high for digital experts from developing economies, 75% would move to access better opportunities to advance their careers. "In analysing the data, we also see that in many parts of the world, people with strong digital skills are more interested in moving to a nearby country or a place where they share the language or culture," notes Rainer Strack, BCG partner and co-author of the report.
USA and London, most popular countries and cities for working abroad
In addition to the US and Germany, the other eight destinations chosen by digital experts as the most attractive places to work abroad are, in order of popularity, Canada, Australia, the UK, Switzerland, France, Spain, Japan and Italy. However, among non-digital professionals, Spain ranks sixth as the ideal country to relocate to. The top five countries remain unchanged as the most popular destinations around the world for anyone interested in relocating, as detailed in Decoding Global Talent 2018.
In terms of cities, London is the top city in the world for anyone looking to relocate, it is also the top work destination for digital experts, whose next most preferred choices are New York, Berlin, Amsterdam and Barcelona. The study therefore finds that the attractiveness of some of the top-ranked cities outweighs the attractiveness of their countries among digital experts.
As the report highlights, digital experts value balance between personal life and opportunities for career progression and development, as well as good relationships with colleagues and managers.
Challenge for countries and recruitersAttracting and retaining digital experts
Digital experts capable of coding software or running advanced AI data analytics are a valuable asset. Companies that need digital experts to run or expand a business face stiff competition to retain talent with such skills. In addition to recruiting, companies can meet the needs of their digital experts by offering training or reassessment programmes to train current employees in new digital skills.
Similarly, cities and countries must compete with other areas to recruit or retain digital experts who could be vital to their economic development. The first step towards such an effort is to conduct a strategic workforce plan for a country or area to map the supply and demand for digital experts. Governments should also launch education programmes and create a national or city-specific "brand" to attract digital talent.
"How countries and companies will adapt their strategies to the digital knowledge deficit will be crucial in the coming years," says Pierre Antebi, director of The Network and co-author of the report. "The recruiters are already aware of the importance of finding and retaining digital talent, so much so that beyond doing so in their own countries, they have also expanded their activities internationally. They need to be more creative than ever and they need data to make the relevant decisions. This report and the data it contains are dedicated to them.