More than 100 figures from administrative, business and youth areas met yesterday at the Talent Spot Intergune 2022, a talent round table organised by the SPRI Group, as part of the annual internationalisation event Intergune 2022, which took place at the BEC (Bilbao Exhibition Center).
The event was opened by the Regional Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, Arantxa Tapia, who discussed how talent is a strategic focal point for the Basque Government and commitment towards improving training for the Basque youth with a view towards supporting Basque companies with their current goal of attracting talent.
“Over the course of the session she urged that the youth choose STEM degrees and to seek international education so as to be able to address future corporate challenges”.
The floor was then taken by Asier Albizu, general manager of Biolan; Ainhoa Fernández, head of the ULMA packaging personnel department; and Cristina Iglesias, head of the CAF T&E personnel and culture department.
All three spoke about international talent goals from a business perspective and discussed the type of talent international companies need to recruit. In terms of exponential business growth such as is the case with CAF T&E, Cristina Iglesias discussed strategies that the company is following to attract talent, stressing that in some cases, foreign talent had been attracted given that there was a shortage of qualified local personnel. In relation to this, she highlighted the need to motivate and encourage young Basques to study STEM careers, something that was her colleagues on the round table also stressed.
Cristina Iglesias also brought up the lack of specific railway sector education at Universities, something that has led companies such as CAF T&E to develop an in-house professional initiative to provide further professional training in order to meet business goals.
Over the course of the session, she urged that the youth seek international education and to live experiences abroad, as the current business climate calls for international work. This is something that calls for people who, besides their knowledge, also possess an attitude and the ability to adapt, to interact with people from other cultures and different circumstances.