In addition, the master's degree classes are held on Friday afternoons and Saturdays so that they can be taken by active workers, "who are doing it either on their own or because many companies are also investing in training their workers". This data confirms that the industry not only needs to incorporate qualified professionals, but also to update the training and skills of their workforces. "Today's industries need specialists to rethink products and implement circular production processes that reduce environmental impact. This is a skill that is going to be increasingly in demand because the circular economy has become a crucial component in the strategy of many industrial areas," he concludes.

In its 'Chemical Industry Transition Pathway', the European Commission recognizes that this sector "is heading towards one of the biggest transformations in its history" that will focus on climate neutrality, circular economy, industrial digitalization, and the transition towards chemical products designed from the outset to be more sustainable. This process translates into the implementation of nearly 200 projects related to low-carbon technologies, according to the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), of which 19 are located in Spain.

One of these projects is being developed in Puertollano and will make it possible to recycle polyurethane foam, the main component of the forty million mattresses discarded each year in Europe, of which only around 17% are recycled. The plant built by Repsol converts polyurethane foam into a polymer that can be used to manufacture mattresses with the same characteristics as today's mattresses, as well as sofas and car seats. In total, it will process some 2,000 tonnes of foam per year, the equivalent of 200,000 mattresses, which is the number of inhabitants of the city of Almeria.

Today, Spain is the second largest European car producer and employs, directly and indirectly, 9% of the working population. Electronics, artificial intelligence, microelectronics, or eco-design are just some of the profiles most in demand today by the Spanish automotive industry, a sector in the midst of a technological transformation process that in 2023 manufactured 323,000 electric vehicles, 13% of the total produced.

The availability of personnel qualified in these new technologies will help the sector to focus its activity on "strategic production phases" of electric vehicles, such as the manufacture of battery cells, microchips, electric motors, and electronic components, which will reduce its current dependence on other countries and allow it to gain influence in electric vehicle supply chains.

In its report "Challenges for the automotive sector in Spain", the sector's employers' association, Anfac, stresses that one of the main challenges for the coming years is to have "qualified personnel for the manufacture of electric vehicles at all stages of the value chain". To ensure that they adapt their training programs to the new needs of the industry, Anfac wants to "promote direct communication with universities and vocational training centers", which would ensure that in the coming years professionals with the skills and technologies that the electric vehicle value chain demands nowadays will be able to enter the labor market.

Wind power is already the leading source of electricity generation in Spain. However, among the challenges it faces to sustain its growth is the lack of professionals to meet the sector's demand, "which has zero unemployment. On the contrary. There is inflation of jobs and salaries. And not only to work at a high level, but in all profiles. We urgently need to increase the number of people with the necessary qualifications," explains Juan V. Márquez, general manager of the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE). This is a problem that affects the whole of the European Union, so the Commission has proposed in the future "Net-Zero Industry Act" the creation of European academies to train 100,000 students in low-emission technologies in the next three years, including one dedicated to the wind energy sector.

By 2030, the AEE estimates that the onshore wind industry will employ more than 60,000 people, with an additional 7,500 in offshore wind. Two of the categories with the greatest shortage of candidates are wind farm operations and maintenance technicians and project developers, a position usually held by engineers or business administration graduates. As is the case today in almost all areas of the economy, experts in digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or Artificial Intelligence (AI) are in high demand, as new-generation wind turbines are already fully digitalized machines and wind farms are designed using sophisticated simulation models.

To make up for part of the lack of qualified professionals, AEE has had its own operation and maintenance course for years, aimed at people with profiles from Dual Vocational Training and Higher Education. "We have also been working with public administrations," continues Márquez, "so that vocational schools have this type of qualifications and students leave with the necessary preparation to go to work directly, without companies having to give them additional training."