During recent years, open unemployment in Guatemala has remained at around 3 percent of the Economically Active Population (EAP), a figure that may decrease, considering that many companies are willing to generate more jobs each year.
However, employers currently face at least eight difficulties in making the hires they require, according to the 2023-2024 Talent Gap Study carried out within the framework of the Guatemala No se Detiene program.
The study consisted of identifying possible gaps in the labor market, after measuring the expectations of the private sector; and with collaboration between the academic, public and private sectors, the aim is to promote lines of action that improve employability in the country, explained the experts Ligia Chinchilla, coordinator of the Human Capital Roundtable of the Guatemala no se Detiene alliance, and Enrique Galdámez, study consultant.
The study was carried out with a sample of 149 companies, which expect to create 10,636 vacancies in different sectors, according to data as of November 2023, which would represent a growth of 26.8% in the workforce, going from 39,000 to approximately 50 thousand workers.
By sectors, the Call Centers & BPOs industry would hire 9,476 people; food and beverages, 362 and manufacturing in general, 283; while the rest of the positions are in ITOs (Information Technology Outsourcing), construction, financial services, textiles and others, according to the responses obtained by the representatives of these companies, who also highlighted the problems they foresee in making these hires.
The problems detected
The main factor against is the difficulty in attracting candidates with specific technical skills (66.18%); the high salary expectations of applicants (50%); the lack of relevant experience in the candidates and the absence of adequate soft skills, with 45.59% each.
Apart from that, there is the competition with other companies for the same candidates; the lack of diversity in the recruit base; employee retention issues after hiring; and the slowness of the hiring and selection process.
Lack of experience is another of the main challenges, despite the fact that the largest number of vacancies is being created for profiles with a maximum of two years of experience, which largely depends on the complexity of the tasks to be performed.
Both experts see the importance of the use of internships (79% of companies reported that they have a program in this regard and 91% of them consider that their impact is positive); and another point is training in generic skills that different industries require.
Regarding study profiles, the report reflects that when analyzing the segmentation of vacancies by degree level of applicants, the two main segments of demand from the private sector are university undergraduate (with 60.67%) and diversified (24.78% ). Meanwhile, technical or diploma and primary levels are required, but in a lower proportion (5.64%).
In the vacancies by work area, it is identified that the three main areas of study in demand are knowledge in languages (65.76%), administration and business (20.29%) and technical-occupational (11.26%).
Regarding salaries, the business sector with the highest salaries is ITOs, with an average of Q14,300 per month; then construction with an average of Q12 thousand 600. And the lowest are in call centers and BPOs with Q6 thousand; and financial services with Q5 thousand 100. The university graduate is the educational level with the highest salary, with Q17 thousand 700 per month, and the undergraduate degree, with Q9 thousand 500.
When analyzing the experience, in this survey it was detected that there is no relevant difference for the market in terms of remuneration for profiles with or without experience, since in both cases, the average salary is around Q6 thousand per month.
After that, the behavior changes because a significant salary increase is reflected from the third year of experience, where salaries are around Q10 thousand and Q12 thousand per month. The behavior is similar if we look only at the administrative and business area, but in the case of the occupational technician, salaries without experience are around Q3,800, with one or two years of experience Q5,100, and 3 to 4 years, the Q6 thousand 400.
Employability by sectors
The greatest opportunity for vacancies is reflected in the call center sector with about 9 thousand, mainly in the operational area, whose requirements include a university degree. In this activity, experience “plays a little relevant role” since the majority of available positions are for beginner candidates and there are no significant changes in salary after the first year of experience. But there is a greater demand for employees (around 7 thousand) graduates in the area of language knowledge.
In the case of food and beverages, the greatest area of demand is in the operational area with 335 vacancies and an average salary of Q5 mi 900 per month. In this industry, there is a tendency to offer a higher salary as the candidate’s level of qualifications increases.
In this sector, experience “seems to have a more relevant role in the industry” and the segment with the highest number of vacancies are candidates with 1 to 2 years of experience and with more than 3 years, they receive a higher salary.
Suggested strategies
Chinchilla concludes that one of the main job generators in the country is the call center and BPO sector, while the other productive activities considered in the study are not generating their vacancies at the same rate, so attention must be paid. to the development policies that are required, including the learning of the English language.
That is also a requirement for certain positions in other sectors such as manufacturing and textiles, which are in the export area, and in ITOs, where programming jobs are well paid.
Therefore, “it is important that we reflect on the need to have a national English strategy in the country” and define what the other points are between academia and what companies require, since the English that is required is work English. , which has a specific, technical and more business-oriented vocabulary.
Additionally, now with the teleworking modality, other management skills are also needed because managing staff in person is not the same as managing them through teleworking.
Another recommendation is to generate agreements between the academic and business sectors regarding the specific and generic skills that the different industries are demanding as a priority to guide and identify which are the sectors in which, for example, a graduate in administration and business may have greater opportunity.
“Through this data, a review of the study programs can be made, focused on skills more oriented to market expectations.”
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