Sàmper highlights the potential of the defense sector to create employment in the face of layoffs

BarcelonaThe Minister of Business and Labour, Miquel Sàmper, has established dual industry –with applications in the defence and civil spheres– as one of the levers to "generate a transformation of the current labour market", in view of the employment regulation files (EROs) in Catalonia, such as those of Nestlé, Ficosa and Nissan. According to Sàmper, "defence is one of the clearest examples to understand where we are".

In the presentation at the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, The potential of the dual-use technological and industrial base in Catalonia, Sàmper opined that the ongoing EROs "are initially worrying". In his opinion, robotization and artificial intelligence (AI) applications will cause "a first moment of upheaval, a certain tension, in which certain jobs will have to be transformed and become other jobs".

He argued that the Generalitat has "bet from the outset" on dual industry and, in the same vein, the Minister of External Action, Jaume Duch, has defended that "Catalonia cannot escape" from the European commitment to develop its military and defence industry.10,000 additional jobs

Dual industry in Catalonia generates 28,000 jobs and has 113 active companies. However, the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce estimates that it has the capacity to create an additional 10,000 jobs by 2030, including new ones and the conversion of existing jobs that may become obsolete.

Currently, there are 812 companies with dual-use technology activity or potential. If Catalonia promotes the sector's activity, the study predicts that by 2030 there will be between 150 and 200 active companies, and that they will have a greater weight in European industry. In terms of turnover, if today the 113 companies have an activity of 1.8 billion euros, the estimate is that the business will grow by 1 billion in terms of gross value added (GVA).

The technical manager of the study and former minister, Roger Torrent, has argued that security and defense is an activity that "provides a lot of stability, long-term projects, added value and margins", even though it has "very high entry barriers". In the same vein, the president of the Chamber, Josep Santacreu, has maintained that it is "an important line for the reindustrialization of Catalonia".

However, "it will not be a shower of millions" for all Catalan companies, warned Jaume Baró, the CEO of Acció – the public company for competitiveness – but rather a line of business that will only be suitable for some.

An "enormous potential"

In Catalonia, the production of arms and ammunition is only 1.40% of the potential industry. The bulk of the 812 companies are dedicated to the production of land vehicles (20.40%) and cybersecurity and quantum technologies (14.90%). Also part of the ecosystem are aeronautical companies (14.30%), New Space (10%) and those dedicated to simulation and gaming (4.60%), among others.

In a round table after the presentation of the study, the president of Petronor, Emiliano López-Achurra, stated that "Catalonia has enormous potential" thanks to the scientific and technological environment. To achieve the expansion of the sector, the CEO of Indra, José Vicente de los Mozos, has called for "changing the mindset from the world of automobiles to the world of defense". "There is potential. I believe what is missing is to organize and focus it, we need leading actors," he reflected, a leadership for which he nominated Indra.

The Chamber has put forward an action plan with eleven concrete measures to boost the sector, including the creation of an industrial conversion program, a certification accelerator, an office to attract European funds, and the development of industrial consortia to compete for major projects.