Barcelona Digital Talent has contributed to the training of almost 3,000 digital professionals in its first six months of 2022

• During the first half of the year, the digital talent alliance promoted by the Mobile World Capital Barcelona and other public-private entities, Barcelona Digital Talent (BDT), has connected more than 500 digital professionals with companies in the territory.
• Companies such as Accenture, Zurich, Ocado Technology or ManoMano have been able to meet and hire digital professional profiles, thanks to BDT initiatives such as speed datings, hackathons or the IT.nerary Day, generating job opportunities and reducing the digital divide.
• Nowadays, digital profiles are 4 times more likely to find a job than those in other sectors.

July 28, 2022

During the first half of 2022, the Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation (MWCapital), through the public-private partnership Barcelona Digital Talent (BDT), has contributed to the digital skills training of almost 3,000 professionals and has also connected more than 500 professionals with pioneering companies in their respective sectors such as Accenture, ManoMano and Zurich. These data highlight the good results of the program, which, through its initiatives, works to fight the digital talent gap and promote market competitiveness.

Its two main areas of work, training and connecting professionals with the corporate environment are more in demand than ever, according to Jordi Arrufí, director of MWCapital’s Digital Talent program and spokesperson for BDT. “The results of this first semester highlight the need, both from the market and talent, to continue training digital profiles and connect them with organizations. We are at a unique moment and we must continue working in this direction to position Barcelona as the capital of digital talent“, adds Arrufí.

The demand for digital talent has increased by more than 40% over the last year

The digital revolution, coupled with the pandemic, has increased the demand for digital profiles in almost all organizations. In 2021, for every job offer in the digital sector there was an average of 15 workers on the market, while, when compared to all sectors as a whole, the ratio is 1 to 60. These are just some conclusions drawn from the ‘Digital Talent Overview 2022’.

In this sense, in order to meet the high demand for these profiles, Low-Code platforms are a good option. According to the report ‘Analysis of Low-Code: a new way to develop code without expertise’, this new programming paradigm allows anyone to create applications and programs without the need for coding knowledge. Arrufí explains that “it is a great opportunity to generate new digital talent and meet market demands”.

Supporting talent, key to fostering labor market insertion

During the first half of 2022, Barcelona Digital Talent has organized 16 workshops in which 513 people have participated; in addition, it has promoted the training of approximately 2,140 people through courses subsidized by the Catalan Employment Service and has accompanied more than 100 through a mentoring program and professional and training advice.

On the other hand, MWCapital, through Barcelona Digital Talent, leads the BCN Inclusive Coding initiative, a project that aims to train and employ 10,000 people at risk of social exclusion in 10 years. And it does so hand in hand with companies such as CaixaBank or Huawei and entities such as the Red Cross or the Convent of Santa Clara. In the first six months of this year, more than 300 people from these groups have completed their training to become future digital professionals.

Connecting talent and business, accelerating the bridging of the digital divide

With the aim of connecting companies with digital talent and accelerating the reduction of the digital divide, this semester, Barcelona Digital Talent has organized 833 interviews with junior candidates from the digital ecosystem. These sessions, popularly known as speed datings, allow recruiters of the leading companies in Barcelona to capture digital talent and incorporate them into their workforce.

In particular, BDT has organized two speed datings: the first one has taken place within the framework of the Mobile World Congress 2022, precisely at 4YFN, while the second one has been organized together with Barcelona Activa. Accenture, Babel, Zurich or i2Cat are some of the organizations that have participated in them, as they were looking for junior digital profiles such as web developers, app, UX/UI specialists, big data or cloud, among others.

In parallel, Barcelona Digital Talent has also organized two hackathons in which approximately 180 specialists in Frontend, Backend, or Data Scientist competed to solve real digital challenges and show their capabilities to companies such as NTT DATA or Bayer.

Barcelona incorporated almost 9,500 new digital profiles in 2021

According to data from the study ‘Digital Talent Overview 2022’, Barcelona is experiencing its best moment in terms of digital talent. In the last year, Barcelona has incorporated 9,500 new digital professionals into the digital market. In addition, Barcelona has attracted more international talent than ever before with the incorporation of 4,700 new profiles, 2.3 times more than those incorporated in 2020.

For this reason, last May MWCapital, Barcelona City Council and ACCIÓ brought together, within the framework of Barcelona Digital Talent, for the first time more than 300 international students from 54 countries, belonging to 23 training centers in Barcelona, in the IT.nerary Day. This initiative, according to its promoters, “allows to provide international talent, who already live in Barcelona, with a deeper insight into the professional opportunities offered by the city“. The students, according to their interest and profile, took part in various organized itineraries in which they visited several companies such as Sanofi, Agbar or Pepsico, which currently have difficulties in incorporating certain digital profiles.

Catalunya Rural Hub, a pioneering project to attract digital talent to rural areas

Barcelona Digital Talent has promoted the Catalunya Rural Hub, a project to encourage the relocation of digital professionals to the less populated rural areas of Catalonia. The project, which has the collaboration of the Departament de Polítiques Digitals de la Generalitat de Catalunya, has held a second edition this spring in Tremp (Pallars Jussà) and Mora d’Ebre (Ribera d’Ebre), where it has brought together 30 digital professionals who were able to work from rural environments for a week.

ABOUT BARCELONA DIGITAL TALENT

Barcelona Digital Talent fights the current digital talent gap to promote market competitiveness. With the aim of positioning Barcelona as a talent capital, the program promotes the reskilling in digital skills of professionals and the national and international attraction of new professionals to the market.

This alliance is driven by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Cercle Tecnològic, 22@Network, Tech Barcelona, Foment del Treball Nacional, Barcelona Global, PIMEC, Ajuntament de Barcelona and Generalitat de Catalunya.

ABOUT MOBILE WORLD CAPITAL BARCELONA

Mobile World Capital Barcelona is an initiative that drives the digital development of society and helps improve people’s lives globally. With public and private support, MWCapital focuses its activity in four areas: accelerating innovation through digital entrepreneurship; transforming industry through digital technology; growing digital talent among new generations and professionals; and reflecting on the impact of technology in our society. Together, the programs are positively transforming the economy, education and society. MWCapital hosts MWC in Barcelona and is the founder of 4 Years From Now (4YFN), the business platform for the startup community present at all MWC events worldwide.