# How easy is it to find work?



## finy (May 22, 2010)

How easy is it for a British person to find work in Spain? I should have a decent grasp of the language before I go.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Not at all easy.
There is about 20% unemployment officially and you know that governments always "cook the books"
Search here for unemployment, work, jobs etc and you'll get the general picture.

That said, if you are fluent in Spanish and have an attractive skill to offer - who knows?? Why not look at job agencies and see what they have now, and also look at the salaries.

If you're an English teacher there's a thread on it somewhere, just search.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

The trouble with finding work in Spain is that there is very little. Spain is in the grips of a financial crisis and there are many Spanish nationals who are desperate for work. So unless you're a qualified professional, with skills that are in short supply here then it isnt easy. There are one or two lobs around that require Spanish/English (totally fluent in spoken and written), but there are alot of totally bilingual people here who are looking. There are some telesales jobs for non spanish speaking, but the pay is poor or commission only and they're not terribly secure!

Recruitment | Situations vacant | myservicesdirectory.com | surinenglish.com Heres a page from our local paper to give you an idea of whats available for non specific recruitment 

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

The simple answer is that it is very difficult. The official figures for unemployment are 20 percent plus but in my area the true figure is around 40 percent.
People will tell you to come on over, trawl yourself around the bars where British immigrants drink and ask what's going. That's fine if you want poorly remunerated, unskilled temporary jobs working on the black, not paying taxes or social security and having a precarious existence. Not only is that a rather unattractive lifestyle for anyone used to a more stable existence, it's also imo morally wrong. We don't approve of immigrants coming to the UK taking jobs that British unemployed workers should have first call on and dodging tax and NI to boot.
If you have professional qualifications and skills - and by that I mean a degree, chartered status or similar, not GCSE or NVQ, then yes, you may find something.
But then if you possess those qualifications and are au fait with the international jobs market you won't need to find a position on forums like these.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Depends on your skills. Tradesmen/craftsmen here are in short supply.

If I was in your position I would visit your chosen destination and make enquiries on the ground, beats questions on the internet, and you never know you might just get lucky.

Don't burn your bridges visit the country first.

Hepa


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Much depends on the area. There may be vacancies in the Canaries but there aren't many decent jobs to be had on the Costa Del Sol, not in this part anyway.
I'm not sure what one would actually do to find work once in Spain.......trawling bars won't find you steady, legitimate work, as I said in my previous post. 
Where would you go to find a job? The Spanish equivalent of the Job Centre? Going around knocking on doors - not very professional and annoying to some managers.
I'm genuinely interested in this as 'come over and look around' is commonly given as advice.
Frankly, I wouldn't know where to start.
So...apart from the ill-advised bar crawl/trawl........what does one actually do to find work?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I do not and never have worked here. However when I was at the end of a thirty year contract in England and during a recession, I fancied starting my own business so, I advertised and was inundated with telephone calls requiring my services. What was to be early retirement very quickly became a 10 hour day seven days a week, and I made a tidy shilling or two. 

Talk to people in the know. Depends really what your trade is, but for example if you are an electrician, make yourself known at the local electrical hardware suppliers, hardware stores, builders merchants, Bank etc. If there is a shortage the people will find you. Do the job well and word will soon spread.

I think you have to have a certain amount of confidence, and a good nose for opportunities. If you are just Mr. Average, who cannot be bothered and always has an excuse not to, then you're never going to move on.


Hepa.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

finy said:


> How easy is it for a British person to find work in Spain? I should have a decent grasp of the language before I go.


I'll try and get back with a reply once I've stopped snorting and spluttering into my Tea.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Hepa said:


> I do not and never have worked here. However when I was at the end of a thirty year contract in England and during a recession, I fancied starting my own business so, I advertised and was inundated with telephone calls requiring my services. What was to be early retirement very quickly became a 10 hour day seven days a week, and I made a tidy shilling or two.
> 
> Talk to people in the know. Depends really what your trade is, but for example if you are an electrician, make yourself known at the local electrical hardware suppliers, hardware stores, builders merchants, Bank etc. If there is a shortage the people will find you. Do the job well and word will soon spread.
> 
> ...



Point taken and yes, there's always a chance...
But I doubt that's the case round here at this time.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Hepa said:


> I do not and never have worked here. However when I was at the end of a thirty year contract in England and during a recession, I fancied starting my own business so, I advertised and was inundated with telephone calls requiring my services. What was to be early retirement very quickly became a 10 hour day seven days a week, and I made a tidy shilling or two.
> 
> Talk to people in the know. Depends really what your trade is, but for example if you are an electrician, make yourself known at the local electrical hardware suppliers, hardware stores, builders merchants, Bank etc. If there is a shortage the people will find you. Do the job well and word will soon spread.
> 
> ...


It depends on your own circumstances as well doesn't it? Samuaaal on another thread is happy doing instalation work and looking after a house. He's 21 and probably doesn't have other responsibilities and he's also got an uncle already living here.
If you're the bread earner of a family with children or older people under your roof, you'd be taking one hell of a chance coming over and going round bars and looking at English freebie papers to see what kind of work you could pick up. I personally would never do that that and less now with the situation as it is in Spain.
Apparently Germany's economy is growing...


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> It depends on your own circumstances as well doesn't it? Samuaaal on another thread is happy doing instalation work and looking after a house. He's 21 and probably doesn't have other responsibilities and he's also got an uncle already living here.
> If you're the bread earner of a family with children or older people under your roof, you'd be taking one hell of a chance coming over and going round bars and looking at English freebie papers to see what kind of work you could pick up. I personally would never do that that and less now with the situation as it is in Spain.
> Apparently Germany's economy is growing...


I agree with you, with a family it would be one hell of a gamble, one that I would not be prepared to undertake.

Hepa


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> It depends on your own circumstances as well doesn't it? Samuaaal on another thread is happy doing instalation work and looking after a house. He's 21 and probably doesn't have other responsibilities and he's also got an uncle already living here.
> If you're the bread earner of a family with children or older people under your roof, you'd be taking one hell of a chance coming over and going round bars and looking at English freebie papers to see what kind of work you could pick up. I personally would never do that that and less now with the situation as it is in Spain.
> Apparently Germany's economy is growing...


That's what I've been hinting at. Going around industrial estates etc. asking for work as a British person wouldn't get you very far here. There are very few British-owned businesses round here and the few that there are -very few - are small and struggling. Spanish employers will of course hire Spaniards first...as they should.
Many but not all of the wannabe jobseekers- and I don't think the OP fits in this category - are people with few if any skills or qualifications who are having a hard time in the UK and think Spain is a undeveloped country where 'white man rules OK'. Many are, to put it bluntly, life's losers.
There are enough of them in Spain already.
And yes, the German economy is doing very well although growth is forecast to slow next year. If only Germans could be persuaded to save less and spend more....the export market dwarfs domestic consumption.


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