Trends in IT recruitment

The technology sector in Barcelona grew by 6,700 professionals in 2020, when it concentrated two out of ten job offers, double the number in 2018. This is indicated by theDigital Talent Overview 2021 report, presented last month by the Generalitat, the Mobile World Capital and the Cercle Tecnològic.

Last year 4,000 job offers were published in the IT sector each quarter, 15% less than in 2019. Despite the drop, it should be noted that in 2020 there were 43% fewer ads in total. For each offer published in the digital sector, there were 19.5 professionals prepared for the position, while in the professional sectors as a whole the proportion ranged from 1 to 68.9.

The areas with the most jobs in Barcelona are web development and mobile applications, computer interface design (UX / UI) and software consulting for companies. These specialties concentrate 73% of the talent (61,000 people). The specialties that have fewer experts are cybersecurity, agile methodologies, internet of things and blockchain.

Photographies by Vera García

The effects of the pandemic also affected the attraction of digital talent, according to the Digital Talent Overview 2021 report. More than 24,600 professionals from the IT sector in Barcelona come from other cities (29.27%). Throughout 2020, the Catalan capital attracted 1,733 foreign professionals, 42% less than in 2019 (4,083).

This data is great news for IT professionals. Who does not like that there is hardly any unemployment in their sector? Likewise, this situation creates certain difficulties for companies to find the profiles they need. In fact, according to a recent study by Adecco, in Spain about 10% of IT profile vacancies are not filled.

A sector with more supply than demand

In a sector that is so dynamic and in demand, new technology professionals tend to be more demanding with the selection processes. Therefore, it is important that companies do not fall into common mistakes such as excessive process delays, technological ignorance, unattractive and too long technical tests and lack of feedback.

To face the barriers to finding IT profiles, it is necessary to update talent recruitment strategies and adapt them to the needs and demands of the sector.

Innovation in recruitment process

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has burst into the world of human resources with force. It makes it possible to facilitate and automate part of the work of recruiters, as well as improve the selection and management of candidates. An example of tools with AI for selection processes are chatbots, which through open and closed questions make a first selection of candidates in an automated way.

Another example is TalentFY, a platform that connects companies and recruiters specialized in IT according to the characteristics of the position demanded and the recruiter himself.

Gamificatoin of recruitment process

In personnel selection, gamification consists of enriching the selection processes with activities and criteria specific to games. These methods allow to measure the capacities of the candidates according to how they face the situations that arise.

The best known techniques are leaderboards, the use of progress bars as you progress through the process, rewards, points, levels, challenges, etc.

Flexible work

Tal y como hemos comentado en posts anteriores, el trabajo en remoto ha experimentado un auge en España en el último año y medio. En el sector IT, antes de la pandemia ya estaba más extendido que en otros sectores. Sin embargo, a día de hoy el trabajo en remoto o flexible es un factor altamente valorado por los candidatos y también una oportunidad para las empresas, que pueden captar talento más allá de su entorno geográfico inmediato. No hablamos solamente de captar talento internacional, sino que empresas de poblaciones pequeñas pueden captar profesionales de todo el país. 

Dicho esto, el trabajo 100% en remoto no es una solución adecuada para todo el mundo, así que es importante que las empresas se adapten a las necesidades de cada perfil ofreciendo flexibilidad de horarios y espacios de trabajo.

As we have commented in previous posts, remote work has experienced a boom in Spain in the last year and a half. In the IT sector, before the pandemic it was already more widespread than in other sectors. However, remote or flexible work is a factor highly valued by candidates and also an opportunity for companies, which can attract talent beyond their immediate geographic environment. We are not only talking about attracting international talent, but companies with small populations can attract professionals from all over the country.

That said, 100% remote work is not a suitable solution for everyone, so it is important that companies adapt to the needs of each profile by offering flexible working hours and spaces.

Specialized external solutions

Recruitment in the IT sector has its peculiarities, above all caused by the existence of more demand for profiles than supply. Thus, recruitment consultancies have to specialize more and more and “put the batteries” to satisfy their clients, companies.

The evolution of the sector has generated a market opportunity for specialized recruiters and has given rise to innovative companies such as TalentFY, which guarantees the presentation of candidates in less than ten days and that only charges the client if there is a contract.