Despite the crisis, not all is bad news.
Although unemployment in Latin America exceeded 10% in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, some jobs have seen an increase in demand.
Thus, health and technology have become the two sectors with the greatest need for workers in 2020 compared to the previous year.
And, despite the fact that each country has its own peculiarities, there are some general trends that have marked the evolution of the labor market in the region.
Jobs in the technology sector, which were in increasing demand, made a huge leap in 2020 as a result of the confinements and transformations that companies have been forced to make to facilitate remote work.
“With the pandemic, the digital transformation of business has accelerated. Many companies have done it in six months changes that could have taken years“Ramiro Luz, Talent Solutions’ director for LinkedIn Latin America, told BBC Mundo.
Intensive care
And because of the health crisis, nurses, doctors and other health professionals and technicians are in greater demand than ever before.
” intensive care nurse it was the most critical and requested job of all the places “, explains Luz.
“Intensive care was the most critical and sought after job of all places,” says Ramiro Luz. IMAGINI GETTY
In this context, the country in the region that had the highest demand for this type of professionals was Brazil.
But in addition, in the largest economy in the region, there has been an increase in demand for R&D professionals, such as pharmaceutical and biochemical, a new element that makes a difference in terms of work requirements in other Latin American countries.
Real estate and e-commerce surprise
In the Mexico, the second largest economy in the region, an unexpected element appeared on the labor market in 2020.
“What caught our attention is that there is a huge demand for real estate professionals in Mexico,” says Luz.
Although the real estate sector has had a strong impact due to the coronavirus crisis, paradoxically, the need has been created for a rapid adaptation of the business model of renting and selling properties.
On the one hand, “many corporate spaces have remained vacant,” says the expert. But it is also true that with declining interest rates and house prices, the demand for workers in the sector has increased by 54% compared to 2019.
Another phenomenon that occurred in 2020 is the transfer of workers from the bank or from retail to e-commerce.
For example, employees who worked as cashiers moved to jobs in logistics centers or storage that are critical to trade online.
Many low-skilled jobs have migrated from physical stores to online commerce logistics centers. IMAGINI GETTY
Without a specific order and given that each country has its own labor needs, these are, according to Ramiro Luz, some of the most in-demand jobs in Latin America’s largest economies:
1- Front-end and back-end web developer
In the jargon of software developers there are two types of specialists: those who work on the “front-end” and those who work on the “back-end”.
The former develops the part of the software that interacts directly with users, while the latter processes the information.
Together with these developers, programmer computer scientists. The latter are tasked with “coding”, ie writing instructions in a computer language that the computer can read to perform tasks such as checking inventory in a warehouse or recording sales.
Although the need for developers and programmers has been a trend in recent years, the pandemic has further increased the supply of jobs in this field. IMAGINI GETTY
Experts say that in a few years, those who do not know programming languages in developed countries will not be able to advance professionally, because it will be a necessary skill, as it is now reading or writing.
Other high demand jobs include SAP Specialist (software for business applications), which helps improve all the processes of a company and computer engineers specializing in the cloud.
2-Data Engineer
Data engineers are responsible for finding trends in datasets and development of algorithms to help raw information be useful for business.
This profession requires a deep knowledge of database design and several programming languages.
It is a kind of job that is in the middle between application developers and data scientists.
Other highly sought after professionals in the computer industry include validation analysts, machine learning engineers, and data architects.
3-Nurse
Faced with the health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the job with the highest demand in the region is that of a nurse specializing in intensive care.
However, the demand for doctors and all kinds of health workers has grown exponentially.
Beyond the encouraging forecasts of pandemic control due to massive vaccination processes, the phenomenon of growing demand for this type of professionals and technicians is a trend that has accelerated in recent years.
With the pandemic, the need for health workers, including those specializing in mental health, has increased. IMAGINI GETTY
And those countries that are facing a process of gradual aging will need more health workers in the future.
In the middle of prisons, the need for mental health professionals, including psychiatrists and psychologists.
4-Medical staff
To the above is added the need to have nurses, which helps patients with cleaning, care, feeding, medication administration and general care processes.
There is also a need for more professionals specializing in rehabilitation, physical and respiratory therapy and people trained in the care of the elderly.
5-Expert in digital marketing
As businesses have been forced to suddenly accelerate their digital transformation, so have the jobs for those responsible for marketing strategies. social media marketing, digital marketing consultants, branding specialists and marketing assistants.
As more and more companies close physical stores and expand their online operations, the demand for digital marketing experts has accelerated. IMAGINI GETTY
6- Director or coordinator of electronic commerce
E-commerce has boosted the labor market in the region.
The field of work is very extensive because it includes from computer specialists to people who perform functions in product storage and distribution centers.
The Director or Coordinator of Electronic Commerce, better known as “e-commerce manager“, is responsible for managing an e-commerce project and for understanding and controlling the sales process online from beginning to end.
“With the pandemic, the digital transformation of business has accelerated. GETTY IMAGES
Depending on the country, the name of this position varies, although it is essentially the person responsible manage your online business.
In terms of e-commerce, other jobs that have thrived are delivery, supply chain assistants and warehousing team managers, as well as logistics and transportation profiles.
7- Customer service representative
With the rapid digitalization of companies, the demand for all the roles associated with customer service has also increased, such as the representative of the company that meets consumer requirements, as well as the supervisors and managers of the team that has this function.
It’s usually the people who work in the so-called “call centers“.
8-Digital content generator
The position of the digital content generator includes people who provide creative services such as editors, animators, illustrators, 3D artists and video editors.
In the generation of digital content, the demand has grown. IMAGINI GETTY
9-Business development specialist
A business development specialist or business development expert is the professional in charge of identifying new opportunities for a company or running a business from the very beginning.
He is responsible for researching and creating new projects, managing the resources needed to implement them and implementing the initiatives.
It is common for a business development specialist to generate specific analytical models for a signature.
10-Real estate agent
This work has seen a specific increase in Mexico.
In Mexico, the supply of jobs in the real estate sector increased during 2020. GETTY IMAGES
This has created job opportunities for real estate agent roles, property manager or real estate consultant.
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