SPAIN'S social security and migration minister said last Friday that the country aims to relax work permit rules for foreigners in order to alleviate labour shortages in areas like tourism and construction, which are threatening the country's economic recovery.
According to Jose Luis Escriva, the administration aims to award more temporary visas to industries that require labour.
"We're looking at several areas of the migration legislation to see where we might enhance it... in order to solve bottlenecks in the Spanish labour market," he added.
Tourism, agricultural, construction, and technology industries have all reported labour shortages.
Around 50,000 non-EU students will be able to combine their education with jobs, according to the administration.
It will also make work permits more accessible to people who can demonstrate a prior link to Spain, whether by family, domicile, or at least two years of labour, even if it was informal.
The most urgent job openings, according to a draught of the revisions, are for telemarketers, sales reps, delivery truck drivers, and software engineers.
The tourist industry in Spain has rebounded well, but employers are having difficulty finding people to serve tables and clean hotel rooms, a problem that the government has described as a European-wide issue.
It will also make work permits more accessible to people who can demonstrate a prior link to Spain, whether by family, domicile, or at least 2 years of labour, even though it was informal.
The most urgent job openings, according to a draught of the revisions, are for telemarketers, sales reps, delivery truck drivers, and software engineers.
The tourist industry in Spain has rebounded well, but employers are having difficulty finding people to serve tables and clean hotel rooms, a problem that the government has described as a European-wide issue.
As a result, employment in official jobs has reached a new high.
Spain has migration agreements in place with Morocco, Ecuador, and Colombia, and it is willing to extend temporary work visas to additional Central American nations.
