Technology managers in Spain will face a recurring problem in 2025: they urgently need profiles in artificial intelligence, data and cybersecurity, but the market does not generate enough prepared professionals to cover that demand.
This talent gap threatens to slow down strategic digital transformation projects, especially in sectors such as banking, energy and health. The lack of specialized talent has become one of the main bottlenecks for innovation.
A recent report from the World Economic Forum places AI and big data among the fastest-growing skills on a global scale, while Coursera identifies cybersecurity and data engineering among the areas with the greatest hiring pressure. However, the supply of talent is not growing at the same rate. The lack of practical experience, international competition for talent and the rapid evolution of technology explain why many projects get stuck in the pilot phase or take longer than expected to be deployed.
“Today it is not enough to master the theory. CIOs need talent capable of taking an artificial intelligence model from the laboratory to production, with all the governance and security that this implies,” explains Luisa Fernández, HRBP at ALTEN Spain. According to this expert, the problem is systemic: “The shortage is no longer just a salary issue. There is a lack of a bridge between academic training and practice in real environments. And without that bridge, talent does not develop its full potential and projects are delayed or do not materialize at all.”
The most sought-after skills in 2025
The market especially intensely demands talent with MLOps profiles, capable of deploying and maintaining AI models in production; data engineers who guarantee quality and scalability; cloud architects and platform engineering specialists for multicloud environments; and cybersecurity experts, capable of integrating regulatory frameworks such as DORA and NIS2 into the technological architecture. The need for talent specialized in API design to manage distributed ecosystems is also growing.
The direct consequence of this shortage is that less than half of digital initiatives achieve their intended business objectives, according to the latest Gartner estimates. “In the projects we lead we see a clear difference: companies that invest in internal academies and reskilling plans manage to attract and retain talent, while those that rely solely on purchasing technology encounter barriers that slow down their return on investment,” says Luisa Fernández.
Advanced training plans
In this sense, ALTEN has developed a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the technological and training capabilities of its internal talent. The company has a continuous training and certification plan, available through learning platforms, certification programs, webinars with international experts and internal specialization sessions aimed at enhancing technical talent.
In addition, it promotes its own program that allows students in the last stage of their university or technical training to learn first-hand about the reality of the market and participate in real projects, favoring the early incorporation of talent and shortening the distance between academic theory and the demands of the business environment.
“Talent stays where it finds real technical challenges. It is not just a question of salaries, but of offering trajectories and projects that give meaning to the professional career,” highlights the HRBP of ALTEN Spain.
ALTEN has a continuous training and certification plan, available through learning platforms
Among the solutions that ALTEN promotes together with its clients, the creation of corporate academies in critical disciplines such as MLOps or cybersecurity in the cloud, alliances with universities and technological bootcamps, and the adoption of hiring models based on practical skills rather than academic degrees, with the aim of identifying and developing talent from early stages, stand out.
The 2025 photograph thus confirms that the debate on digitalization no longer revolves solely around investment in technology, but around the ability of organizations to attract, train and retain the talent that makes it possible.
