Technology jobs are growing faster in Spain than anywhere else in the world, according to the Equinix 2023 Global Tech Trends Survey. Compared to 66% of IT team leaders across the rest of the world, 70% of IT managers in Spain plan to increase their workforce over the next twelve months.

The authors of the study, produced by the US data centre infrastructure provider, directly link the growing demand for technology talent to the continuous evolution of the skills needed in the IT industry. As such, hiring new talent is seen as a necessary step for adapting to ongoing developments in areas like cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI).

Most in-demand profiles
The survey also focuses on the professional profiles that are most in demand by companies. The job roles and fields in Spain where most personnel are hired and continue to be hired are computer technicians (64%), cloud computing (44%) and security analysts (34%). Other key areas include data protection, security software development and security administration. This trend indicates that strengthening cybersecurity capabilities is very important for Spanish companies’ technology strategies.

With regard to employment, there are other priority issues for IT managers in Spain. For 55%, the biggest challenge facing this area of the technology industry is the sheer speed at which the technology industry is transforming. 41% said that the biggest challenge is retaining talent, while 38% cited remuneration and compensation and 32% indicated the shortage of available talent as being the most challenging areas.

Business strategies
Equinix's Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer, Brandi Galvin Morandi, emphasised that “technology teams are under increasing pressure to deliver on business strategies as the workforce tries to keep up to speed with technological transformation”. That is why, she continued, “access to talent is now a critical issue being discussed in boardrooms across all industries and can even be a determining factor in deciding whether a company expands into a new market. The HR function in organisations must increasingly act with agility and have a growth mindset in order to continuously deliver dynamic solutions. A new approach to accessing and empowering talent can be a competitive advantage.”

Although some technology companies have recently had to downsize, only 4% of IT managers surveyed in Spain plan to take this route. Meanwhile, most companies in the industry are continuing to create jobs in order to operate and protect increasingly advanced and complex IT systems. This is despite the fact that some technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, are only priorities for 23% of IT managers in Spain, compared to 37% on average worldwide.