Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2012, in the middle of Spain’s economic crisis. The sectors and occupations listed reflect Adecco’s outlook for the summer of 2012, and the claim that call centres were then the sector offering the most contracts is from that year.
Summer used to be the time of year when hiring went up. In the good times, we saw increases of up to 20% over the previous year. Now, since this never-ending crisis began, summer hiring campaigns have shrunk too, and they’re no longer the balm for the job market they used to be.
Many young students will see their hopes dashed of gaining some work experience and earning enough to pay their university fees, or a bit of pocket money for a more relaxed summer.
But it’s not all bad news: some occupations will still be offering contracts over the summer. Want to know which ones?
Hospitality remains the big draw for summer contracts. The sector is looking for cooks, waiters, chambermaids and hotel receptionists, some of these jobs requiring language skills.
Leisure will be the big star of the summer. It will take on travel agents, tour guides, entertainers and activity leaders, who will fill positions in hotels, travel agencies and theme and leisure parks.
Airports will also be hiring seasonal workers, especially for check-in, baggage handling and car rental desks. This is the result of the rise in population in tourist areas.
Shopping centres in tourist areas will add staff because of higher consumer spending. It will be a chance to cover absences among promoters, cashiers, shop assistants, shelf stackers and fitters.
Call centres will make languages a requirement for telemarketing and phone operator jobs and call reception, in a sector that currently offers more contracts than any other. This group includes roadside assistance companies, which need more of these services because more people are on the road. Insurance companies also take the opportunity to launch their sales campaigns, so this sector and these services will be taking on new staff, including coordinators for phone operators.
Senior sales reps are in demand because some companies run tactical campaigns to get immediate results. For the candidate, this is a good opportunity to learn about sales.
Industry is the most stagnant sector of all. Its summer activity tends to centre on inventories or maintenance, so it will be looking for maintenance technicians, skilled industrial workers, machine operators, labourers, forklift drivers and stocktakers.
These figures come from the temporary employment agency Adecco, but you can find more information in these other articles:
Featured image: Xemenendura, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
