Digitalization, transformation or digital acceleration are terms that, to a greater or lesser extent, have become common in most companies. Its development promises to increase productivity, modernize and optimize processes to be more agile in decision -making, while reducing times and costs. Therefore, according to the last Eurostat data, the large Spanish companies lead this process with 34% that can boast good digital health, while that percentage drops to 26% in the case of medium and 21% if we look at SMEs and microenterprises. More information about the main innovations highlight terms such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the cloud, blockchain, big data, cloud computing and, of course, artificial intelligence (AI). According to the indicators for artificial intelligence use in Spanish companies, 11.4% of companies of 10 or more employees use AI technologies, 1.8% more than the previous year, although even below the European average. A percentage that rises to almost half in the case of large companies, almost 11 points more than three years ago. With these data, there is a margin of improvement taking into account that the objectives are not met regarding the Spain Digital 2025 strategy, that is, that 25% of companies use artificial intelligence and big data. Francisco Hortigüela, president of AMETIC, representative Association of the Digital Technology Industry sector in Spain, points to talent as the engine of this digital transformation. «The impulse of a training aligned with current digital needs is urgent if we want to meet the objectives. Without the necessary digital skills, from the most basic to the most technical, any strategy for business digitalization is incomplete,» says Hortigüela. Something that the majority unions also underline. From CC oo industry, they are clear that it is not about incorporating the greatest possible number of digital tools in the processes while from UGT they are essential to accompany this transformation process with a comprehensive strategy. «Technology is the means to achieve something, not the end,» explains José Varela, responsible for AI and Digitization of UGT, who advocates «knowing how to accompany this process with a good professional recalification program and with hiring of experts in the field.» The truth is that, according to the data of the Digital 2024 report, one of the weaknesses of Spain is, together with the digitalization of SMEs, the low percentage of ICT experts (information and communication technologies) between the occupied population: 4.4%. «Still three out of 10 large Spanish companies have not trained any ICT employee during the last year. And it is also an aspect in which it is barely progressing; in the last decade, and despite how digital technologies have evolved, not even 10% has grown in companies committed to digital continuous training,» Varela laments. More information in addition, from CC OO they point to the elitism of these formations: «Although training training programs have already been initiated, these are fundamentally focused on strategic profiles: engineers, systems technicians, intermediate controls, among others.» They also insist that more budget is allocated to the acquisition of new technology than to the adaptation of professional profiles through continuous training for its application. This also affects the most veteran workers, who feel great vulnerability to the arrival of these changes.
Generational gap
In the vast majority of companies, up to three generations within the teams come to live together. Something that can be very beneficial but can also lead to tensions. According to the key report to accelerate digitalization in strategic sectors made by IoT Analytics and Siemens, 32% of respondents highlighted organizational and change management as their greatest obstacle towards digitalization. Given this, Thays Ariza, internal consultant of people and organization of Siemens, is clear about the strategy: «The resistance to change I think is something natural and we cannot avoid it, but fortunately or unfortunately it is not that the wolf is coming; the wolf has already arrived. It is very tangible, very easy to teach what is happening and how fast the change comes from here on,» he clarifies. «The key is to take advantage of the experience of the veterans and provide them with the digital tools that allow them to remain competitive,» explains Hortigüela, which points out some of the most common initiatives to achieve it: inverse mentoring programs, where young people with digital skills train senior profiles; Digital competence courses adapted to these workers, and professional recycling initiatives that allow workers with great sector experience to adapt to the digitalization of their area. And, as a sentence Vela, «without knowledge of the business it is impossible to digitize it.»
Qualifications for the new construction
Construction is one of the less digitized sectors of the economy. Industrialization, new constructive techniques, artificial intelligence and augmented reality are made their way, especially through large construction companies, but as in the rest of sectors here the formation – in balance between innovation and trades – becomes vital. «The new construction industry demands working people with qualification, who preserve the continuity of the trades and develop emerging competences, with technological and ecological profiles,» says Julio Gil, general director of the Construction Labor Foundation, which indicates the importance of training and recalification to the new materials and techniques that advance in the sector.