The tough battle to find workers

A company is doing well, attracting customers, its sales are constantly increasing, and it has big expansion plans. But this is where the problems begin. It can't find enough employees, and with the necessary training, to meet the projected growth rate.

It seems like a fairy tale if you look at Spain's unemployment rate, which stood at 11.4% in the first quarter of the year. But it's a real problem, particularly affecting tourism and distribution, two sectors on the rise that are struggling to attract talent.

The group's revenue grew by 23% last year, reaching 680 million euros.

At Ametller Origen, the food group led by Josep Ametller, they are well aware of the situation and have reacted to try to remedy it. "Whoever has the talent will have the market," says Fernando Oteiza, the company's general director of operations. The company has just created its own training school, to which it has allocated €450,000 for its preparation phase. It will also allocate €1.3 million annually to its development.

"The school was born out of a dual need: to attract that talent and retain it. There's a real war in the sector to attract qualified employees," says the school's founder, who has named it El Viver, a reference to the crops that grow its stores. The center is located above a recently opened store in Barcelona.

The group is in the midst of a growth phase and aims to recruit 1,300 employees in twelve-month cycles, both due to increased sales at existing establishments (146 by the end of 2024) and the planned openings for this year, with larger stores and more services (prepared meals, fishmongers, butchers, etc.) in addition to the already traditional fruit and vegetable stores. And given that the necessary profiles don't exist on the job market, they have to train them themselves.

The food distribution sector is experiencing a real war for talent.

The first batch of 15 applicants—hired from day one—will join the school tomorrow, Monday. There, they will receive a week of intensive training, both theoretical and practical. For the latter, they have replicated an Ametller store (see attached image) where they will rehearse their workstation. To prevent food waste, all the products found in this store are replicas, although at first glance it may seem otherwise. If they pass this first week of training, they will move on to the real store, where they will continue the learning process for six months while on the job. In addition, the company will provide ongoing training for its more than 4,500 employees, with streaming classes and access to a virtual classroom.

“Our customers demand product knowledge; we have nearly 300 products in fruits and vegetables alone, and we couldn't find such specific training elsewhere,” reflects Oteiza. The company, and the sector in general, is also struggling with the loss of trades. There are increasingly fewer specialists in fishmongers, delicatessens, and butchers, lines of business that Ametller is now promoting with its new store model.

Staff: Ametller has more than 4,500 employees, with an average age of 36 years.

The result of this objective is the agreement signed just a few weeks ago with the meat group Arnall, through which they will jointly manage the approximately 50 butcher shops in Ametller stores. This line of business contributed €26 million to the company's turnover last year, 27% more than in 2023, and is expected to continue to increase. Finding the right workers is therefore essential to boosting these activities.

"With the school, we also want to build a bond between the workforce and the company, so that employees feel part of the project and identify with it," emphasizes the operations director. To this end, they are also implementing salary improvement plans. This is the way, Oteiza comments, to prevent the job abandonment and absenteeism that are such a concern in the retail sector. Companies that don't move in this direction will see their future jeopardized.