Nearly three million people with Spanish nationality currently live abroad, of whom approximately 400,000 were habitual residents of Catalonia. Just 15 years ago, that number was less than 150,000.
It's clear that globalization and an increasingly knowledge-based global economy are generating greater mobility for people, whether for study or work. In fact, the global competition for talent had already intensified before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has resurfaced strongly once we have returned to the pre-pandemic situation.
The explanation for this lies in the ease of free movement of people between European Union countries and, very significantly, in the working conditions offered to skilled workers in many countries such as the United States, Australia, and the Persian Gulf. The talent market is growing, and many recent graduates find in non-traditional destinations good opportunities for both professional and personal growth.
The debate on brain drain, which at the end of the last century focused on the flow of skilled workers from countries in the Global South to countries in the Global North, is now extending to the countries that were previously recipients.
The difficulties many companies face in filling highly specialized vacancies due to low birth rates and educational imbalances—we have a largely neglected vocational training program and some poorly designed qualifications—have only exacerbated a problem that, in Europe, has been going on for a long time.
As the Draghi report points out, if our companies fail to attract and retain talent that fosters their innovative capacity, we can only expect the European Union's economic decline compared to its main competitors: the United States and China (and soon India).
We can only break this dynamic if we dedicate resources to reorienting economic and industrial activity toward those sectors that must lead the next wave of innovation.
It is in this area that universities, university hospitals, and research centers must play a key role in improving the research-innovation relationship. It is impossible to transfer knowledge or work together with companies and other relevant stakeholders in the field of innovation without excellent basic research that enables significant advances in knowledge. And it is impossible to do so if we cannot guarantee that we are able to retain scientists trained in our country, or that we cannot attract the top-level global technical personnel essential to operationalize the new technological infrastructures that will make a difference.
And another important issue. As long as the world rewards those who do research and innovate much better, we'll be on a limp. It's true that our quality of life, our privileged environment, and the security of our country are competitive advantages over others, but we can't be paying and recognizing talent at half the rate of our global neighbors.
Last May, President Isla announced the creation of the Catalunya Talent Bridge, a €30 million program to recruit 78 US scientists "expelled" by Trump over three years. It's a good idea, but we're thinking about who's searching and innovating here so we don't leave.
Catalonia (and Barcelona) meet many of the conditions to become a benchmark not only for southern Europe but also globally, but we need to join forces to strengthen and consolidate our innovative ecosystem. This is also true for businesses. Only by working together can we achieve this. Talent is highly sought after.
