Professionalisation and specialisation will shape the future demand for workers in commerce


When

25/10/2018

Barcelona’s retail sector offers perspectives of professional development that depend on specialisation, professionalisation and the acquisition of new skills in the face of a transformation process caused by the impact of new technologies. These are main traits of the employment prospects that commerce can offer in the wake of the challenges that face us,

E-commerce, shopping experience, digitalisation of commerce, the association movement, knowledge of the market, adaptation and new consumer habits and needs are, among the more salient factors, the ones that will have an impact on professional opportunities for working in the sector.

Barcelona Activa, acting on behalf of Barcelona City Council's Department of Commerce, organised a day event at its Networking centre to analyse the situation in the retail sector and the professional opportunities it offers. 

Speaking at the event, the City Council’s Director of Commerce, Mercè Garcia, stressed “we are in a period of change” in reference to the transformation that commerce is undergoing. Technological change is just one of the reasons commerce is facing new challenges. Another is the new role of consumers who, according to Mercè Garcia, are now setting the standard with the information they have on products. And, given that, she emphasised the need for commerce to face up to this situation by, for example, strengthening its association structures and bearing in mind the value of specialisation and professionalisation in the business management of shops. In short, these are the keys to achieving greater competitiveness, which is the main goal.

Demand for labour with mobiles at the heart of strategies

Speaking on behalf of the Department of Commerce, Roger Gaspa presented a report on the professional opportunities offered. This points out that the sector will need new specialist professionals with new skills geared towards customer care, sales management, knowledge of other cultures, people who specialise in digital media, data analysis and digital marketing, such as shopping-experience managers in retail establishments, and team managers and leaders.

An important aspect to bear in mind is that mobile phones are at the heart of the strategy of many companies, thereby leading to the incorporation of specific profiles.

Snapshot of commerce

Barcelona commerce is one of the sectors with the most weight and dynamism in the city’s economy. It provides 150,966 jobs and has created nearly 9,500 since 2013, in addition to generating 13.2% of Barcelona’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the data presented by Àngels Santigosa, from the Department of Studies at the Directorate of Organisation and Management. Only the company services sector tops that with 14.9% of GDP.

Furthermore, data on Catalonia's business climate show there was a positive shift in business to commerce during the first six months of 2018. The sector achieved a positive balance (7.7%) during the second quarter of the year, despite being lower than for the economy as a whole (15.4%) and for the same period in the previous year. The report nevertheless highlights the favourable development in the number of workers employed in commerce, with a positive balance of 10.4 points.

As for the sector's structure, Barcelona has a very significant weight in Catalan commerce as a whole, concentrating 27.3% of the sector's jobs in Catalonia and 27.6% of the companies with salaried employees who are dedicated to it.

It is important to stress too that the prevailing profile in the sector is that of a woman (58.3% of the total) under the age of 30 (57%) who has a temporary contract (72.6%) in the retail trade (72.5%).

On the other hand, the average salary in the retail trade in Barcelona was €19,474 per year in 2016, which is nearly €10,000 a year below the Barcelona average (€29,176 per year). In the wholesale trade, the average annual salary is €35,588 per year, which is 22% above the city’s average. As regards the gender salary gap, the difference in remuneration between men and women in retail (23.6%) is above the city average (21.8%), whereas the figure in wholesale (14.8%) is 7 points below the average.

Consult Barcelona Commercial Sector Survey, with the data from 2017, for further information.