When someone goes to a job interview, the best move to land the job is not to push themselves as the best or the most persistent. It’s to present themselves as a worker who can “adapt to change.” This is the skill most in demand by companies in Catalonia today, to the point that half of the job postings in the last five years list this ability as the most valued by employers when hiring. Yet many firms still aren’t sure what it means or what is required to “adapt to change.”
This conclusion comes from the Competencies and Occupations Barometer released on Friday by the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and the employer association Pimec. The analysis covers 1.7 million online job ads published across platforms from Infojobs and Indeed to public employment portals over the past five years. To filter the demanded skills, the study relies on categories within the ESCO classification (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations).
Companies prefer “chameleon” workers who can fit into new roles or responsibilities as they arise (51%). They also highly value candidates who are willing to “assume responsibilities” (29%) or who can “manage time” effectively (27%). Clearly, they rank those who can “manage stress” (18%), show “determination” (9%), or work in an “efficient” manner (4%) lower. In short, employers favor flexible and independent workers over mere persistence or efficiency, with those two traits ranking the lowest in the UOC-Pimec barometer. “These are capabilities tied to a period of change,” summarized Àngels Fitó, the rector of the UOC. The study’s authors also say that communication and teamwork skills will rise in importance in the coming years, especially as automation and artificial intelligence accelerate across processes and operations.
Hiring gaps
The UOC and Pimec initiative aims to provide the public with a living tool that periodically tracks what employers seek when hiring and how the demanded skills evolve within job ads. “The main challenge for firms now is finding qualified people for the needs we have,” stated Antoni Cañete, president of Pimec, during the launch.
Information technology and communications (TIC) play a major role in the pool of openings, a sector that has been growing for years and whose roles are becoming universal across the economy. System analysts represented 3.2% of job ads, while software developers accounted for 3.1% in 2023. There is also notable demand for professionals in commercial and advertising fields and in facilities management, with particular emphasis in the Tarragona and Lleida regions.