Many people who move here from abroad find the job market more difficult than they had anticipated. Ramon Guardia, from the Catalan Investment agency (CIDEM), says that foreigners often come to Barcelona naively thinking that they will be able to walk into any job. “Even well-qualified professionals from abroad have to compete with Catalans in the same marketplace,” he said. “Catalan companies require anyone applying for a post to speak both Castilian and Catalan. Many foreigners think that speaking English will be enough to find work, and they fail to learn Spanish or Catalan properly. They then find it difficult to enter the workplace except by teaching English or working in call centres where there is always a big demand for foreign workers.”
Many of these foreigners come from countries where entrepreneurs are often lauded and encouraged—people like Richard Branson (Virgin), Stelios Haji-Ioannou (Easyjet) or Bill Gates (Microsoft). The Spanish system often seems to operate with a different set of values. Alex Martin, of Barcelona-based Martin Howard Associates, which helps budding entrepreneurs to set up businesses, said that Spaniards and Catalans do not have much cultural encouragement to become entrepreneurs. “Here there are few small-company tax breaks, or overdraft or financing facilities that don’t come with high demands for guarantees from the banks. Grants are also generally ineffectual. Social security costs are high, and
getting on the wrong side of the social security or tax system, by not declaring or paying, is painful and ultimately risky.”
Adriana Llorens, a local Catalan jewellery designer who spent several years in the UK, stressed that there are big cultural differences. “Consumers in London give more importance to having a one-off piece, so they are ready to pay what the item is worth, whereas here they think twice when the price is high, knowing that they could get a similar item in Zara for half price or less. So many people from different nationalities and cultures live in London, which makes the market much more attractive and the chances of success increase. Whilst Barcelona is getting more international, it has still a long way to go in that sense. However, recently the city is helping to promote young entrepreneurs.”
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