In recent decades we have witnessed the emergence of numerous factors that notably affect our societies and particularly employment. Among them, the extraordinary quantity of cumulative information (big data) has repercussions on various aspects. From the economic perspective, two can be singled out. Firstly, the same data is converted into a source of business for the production and distribution of goods and services. And secondly, the goal of managing this data quickly has led to exponential development of the use of digital instruments such as programming, algorithms, etc. For this reason, in the current production system, the intensity and accumulation of knowledge obtained through information achieved with data has acquired major importance. It is no longer transferred to machines (robotization) but to digital platforms (apps, webs), with which a part of the production system is dematerialised.

Spain is tackling the challenges of the digital economy from a position that originated in a difficult context. As explained by Lladós (2018), following the crisis that began in 2008, the Spanish economy has barely taken advantage of opportunities to redirect itself towards a knowledge society. Various authors have highlighted how a model based on cheap employment and with little concern for improving skills and abilities has placed Spain in a difficult position with regard to digital transformation (Alós 2018).

That is the reason why, according to these authors, in its approach to digitalisation processes Spain faces greater risks and uncertainties than other European countries. To ascertain the current situation, we have used a combination of data provided by international reports and the answers to our own questionnaire, administered to experts on the situation from different spheres.

If we refer to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which was commissioned by the European Commission, Spain has improved its position among the 28 member states of the European Union (EU): from 15th place in the year 2014 to 10th in the year 2018, above Germany and France (European Commission, 2018). The DESI is a synthetic index that summarises some 30 relevant indicators relating to advances in digitalisation in Europe, grouped into five dimensions: connectivity, human capital, use of Internet services, integration of digital technology and digital public services.

According to this index, in the year 2018 Spain stood above the European average in connectivity (fixed and mobile broadband, fast and ultrafast broadband, prices) and it stood out in integration of digital technology and in digital public services, but it fell below average in human capital the use of Internet services (figure 1).

Digital public services (e-administration) constitute the dimension in which Spain stands out most, since it occupies position number 4 within the EU, only behind Finland, Estonia and Denmark. Spain also stands out, occupying post number 7, in integration of digital technology, this being the dimension in which it has most advanced in recent years.

When we refer to the integration of digital technology, we establish two major sections: on the one hand, the digitalisation of companies, above all related with the media, electronic information, etc.; and on the other, e-commerce, i.e. online sales or internet businesses, which includes access to foreign markets. Spain stands out in the first section, while it lags behind in the second due to the weakness shown by small- and medium-sized companies in adapting to the digital economy, because of a lack of knowledge regarding its potential, and the scarce resources assigned to access and training.

Among the dimensions in which Spain falls below the EU average according to the DESI, it is worth highlighting human capital, which includes the knowledge and use of basic and advanced computer tools.

The report reveals that barely 55% of people aged between 16 and 74 years have basic digital skills and that specialists in ICT represent just 3% of the population in employment. This important shortfall derives, in part, from the education system, but also from a production model that sustains a high number of unstable jobs that do not contribute to knowledge and skills acquisition while on the job.

As for the use of Internet services, in other words, communicating, consuming contents from the Internet or using online banking, although overall Spain stands somewhat below the EU average, in many of its indicators the differences are small.

Other reports offer a less optimistic view of digitalisation in Spain than that offered by the DESI. For example, Digital Economic Opportunity, which is produced by Accenture and Oxford Economics (Accenture and MWCB 2017), situates Spain in position number 11 out of the 14 countries analysed, below and lagging a long way behind the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Netherlands, to mention the four countries that lead the ranking. Furthermore, Spain’s score fell between 2014 and 2016.

This fall in position is the result of numerous causes, from which the report highlights the following:

1. A low level of digital knowledge on the part of the population, which is compounded by a lack of investment in digital training by businesses.

2. A lack of vision and clear strategies on digitalisation, with few investments in this respect.

3. An excessively rigid regulatory framework.

4. Low investment in innovation and difficult access to funding have also not helped the digital transformation in Spain.

The DESI report also indicates that, in Spain, the weight of the ITC sector in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) falls below the average of the EU (in the year 2015 it occupied 20th position among the 28 member states). Furthermore, Spain scores below average when referring to participation of the ICT sector in total employment, in this case finding itself in 19th position (EC 2018).

In a similar sense, data are shown on investment in RDI – a key element in the digitalisation process – and on the necessary investment in the production structure. While the majority of countries in the EU have increased their investment in RDI since the peak of the crisis (although only Sweden, Germany, Austria and Denmark exceeded 3% of GDP in 2017), in Spain this investment has fallen from 1.36% of GDP in 2010 to 1.21% in 2017, having exceeded 1.3% of GDP only between 2009 and 2011. To sum up, in 2016 Spain invested 283.6 euros per inhabitant in RDI, a figure much lower than the average of the EU and the Eurozone (587.7 and 654.8 euros, respectively).

Beyond the objective data and indicators, we consider it of the utmost interest to find out the opinion of labour market experts, employers and trade unionists. For this we conducted a questionnaire among key informants, for which 41 answers were obtained from experts, 24 from employers and 24 from trade unionists.

The questionnaire included one open question in which respondents were asked to indicate up to three of Spain’s weak points in comparison with leading countries of the EU. Pointed out among them, with a high number of answers (234 out of the 267 possible) was firstly the production model, referring basically to the production structure and business size; the lack of investment effort in RDI and digitalisation of businesses; a lack of entrepreneurship and high precarity in employment conditions, with many job contracts of very short duration.

The second weak point is the education system, in its entirety, which is considered obsolete because it does not give sufficient preparation in technical specialisations, knowledge and contents related with STEM (sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics), and, in particular, it grants little relevance to vocational training. Third are public policies, due to the low budget of those focusing on digitalisation and the lack of encouragement for research, the shortfall of grants and incentives for entrepreneurship, the absence of strategies and governance in technological matters and an excessively regulatory framework  in labour matters, among other characteristics.

Finally, also indicated are the lack of continuous training and recycling, little attention paid by companies to digitalisation and the low educational level, as well as resistance to professional recycling, above all among the older population (figure 2).

We should mention that some differences are appreciated among our informants. Thus, for experts, the main weak points are the production model and education system, whereas employers stress continuous training and recycling, and public policies; in contrast, for trade unionists the weak point is, above all, the production model.

With regard to the strong points (figure 3), surprisingly a lower number of answers were obtained (164 out of 267 possible answers), which perhaps reflects greater difficulties for their identification on the part of those interviewed.

In any case, among the answers prominent were capacity, training and adaptability, especially among young people; specifically, there was a high opinion of the university system and its extension, as well as the quality of training in engineering disciplines.

Indicated in second place was the investment appeal that some cities offer thanks to their quality of life, the climate, the cost of living and the presence of services and of leading-edge business niches in technology.

Pointed out in third place was the extension, availability and quality of digital and connection infrastructures.

And in fourth place, those surveyed had a positive opinion of (and thus consider necessary) good digital public administration, as indicated in various answers.

The experts and employers give quite similar answers, while trade unionists have a lower opinion of the investment appeal and a higher one of the presence of digital and connectivity infrastructures and, above all, a digital public administration.

Growing digitalisation represents one of the main challenges that our societies have to face. This affects production systems in their insertion into today’s world; it affects employment and society as a whole and its levels of wellbeing.

In the case of Spain, these challenges have been tackled in an unequal way to date. Although in some aspects, such as connectivity or the presence of digital public services, the indicators available situate Spain at similar – if not better – levels than those of other countries around it, this favourable situation is not maintained if we look at other aspects, such  as the lack of adaptation to the digital economy shown by small- and medium-sized companies and, especially, the shortfalls with respect to the training of human capital. These weaknesses are especially worrying if we consider the relatively small Spanish investment in RDI, which remains noticeably lower than that of countries in the north and centre of Europe and which, even today, has still not recovered the levels it had attained prior to the crisis of 2008.

In the opinion of experts and the main actors of the production system (employers and trade unions), the principal obstacles faced by the Spanish production model, in order to adapt to growing digitalisation, are the scarcity of investments in innovation and the great precarity of the labour market, as well as the lack of attention paid to training and recycling. New public policies designed to alleviate these weaknesses are urgently required to ensure that transition.

Accenture and Mobile World Capital Barcelona (2017): Digital economic opportunity in Spain. How digitalization may boost the Spanish economy

Alós, R. (2018): «El empleo en España, espejo de su estructura productiva», en F. Miguélez (coord.): La revolución digital en España. Impacto y retos sobre el mercado de trabajo y el bienestar, Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 

Comisión Europea (2010): Estrategia Europa 2020.

Comisión Europea (2018): Índice de la Economía y la Sociedad Digitales (DESI) 2018, Informe de país para España

Lladós, J. (2018): «La transformación del empleo en España derivada de la automatización y la inteligencia», a F. Miguélez (coord.), ibídem

Parlamento Europeo (2017): Resolución del Parlamento Europeo, de 16 de febrero de 2017, con recomendaciones destinadas a la Comisión sobre normas de Derecho civil sobre robótica