The technology sector is expanding in Barcelona and has been one of the few not affected by the pandemic. The ecosystem attracts multinationals like Pepsico or Festo that choose the city and its metropolitan area to locate their technology centers, while also creating new startups that energize it. But this growth is not accompanied with the same intensity as the generation of sufficient profiles to cover all existing demand.
Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital), a foundation created by the Mobile World Congress (MWC) with the aim of leaving a legacy in the Catalan capital beyond the four days the fair lasts, has been trying to reduce this digital talent gap for years. Together with the Public Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC) and the Barcelona City Council, MWCapital has created BCN Inclusive Coding, a program that plans to hire 10,000 digital professionals in the next ten years.
This initiative is aimed at people in vulnerable situations and will count on the La Caixa Foundation and the Red Cross to identify them and put them in contact with the centers responsible for training. This last leg will also be covered by organizations specialized in the insertion of groups at risk of exclusion such as MigraCode Barcelona, Factoria F5, and the Esplai Foundation. BCN Inclusive Coding will specialize in training them to develop websites, one of the most demanded profiles by the sector. The incorporation of other skills such as data analysis is not ruled out in the future.
According to Jordi Arrufí, Digital Talent Director at MWCapital, one of the essential parts of this program is to integrate companies that may be interested in these profiles. A total of 25 companies participate, including Bayer, Adevinta, Capgemini, Webhelp, Eurofirms, GFT, and Endesa. The companies that are part of this program have not committed to hiring a specific number of workers during these ten years, but rather agree to prioritize these incorporations, taking into account that these are profiles they are already looking for. The contribution of the SOC will also be important, as it will provide tax incentives to companies to hire this type of profile.
The 10,000 hirings foreseen by BCN Inclusive Coding have already begun. Arrufí indicates that about 150 will occur this year. Precisely, this Tuesday MWCapital organized a speed dating to connect 60 people who have already trained in the courses offered by MigraCode Barcelona, Factoria F5 and the Esparcimiento Foundation with 13 companies looking for digital profiles. It is expected that the number of hirings will accelerate over the years to achieve the goal of 10,000, as more companies join the program. For 2022, they expect 400 hirings to be made.