Spain: Welding trade faces critical shortage as young people shun profession

Spain is grappling with a critical shortage of skilled welders, with industry leaders warning of a deficit exceeding 20,000 professionals. This gap is primarily attributed to the retirement of experienced workers and a significant decline in young people choosing to enter the trade.

The demand for qualified welders remains exceptionally high across workshops, metal processing companies, and construction firms. This sustained demand, coupled with the shrinking workforce, has naturally driven up wages. Some experienced welders can now command salaries of several thousand euros per month, a testament to their specialized skills and the market's needs.

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People don't want to be welders.

Sergio Bog, a metal processing specialist with over 30 years of experience, highlighted the challenges in a podcast interview. He described his own journey of learning the trade through perseverance and extensive practice, noting that initial training was not readily available. Bog now runs his own workshop and observes firsthand the difficulty in finding new welders, stating, "People don't want to be welders." He has resorted to automation to manage his workload due to the scarcity of skilled labor.

The Bank of Spain has repeatedly flagged the shortage of qualified workers as a constraint on business activity, particularly in the industrial and construction sectors. The growing number of vacant positions and attractive salaries underscore the urgent need to address this skills gap and encourage a new generation to embrace the welding profession.

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The problem now is that there are no welders. People don't want to do this job, and I am overwhelmed with work.