Connecting Talent at Caxton College

Representatives of prestigious Valencian firms offer their vision regarding the most sought-after professional qualities in the labour market

The first event for the professional association of Old Caxtonians offered a unique opportunity to learn more about the opinions of representatives from Caixabank, Cuatrecasas, Dacsa, EDEM, ERRE Arquitectura, Guzmán Global, IKEA and Vithas related to the transformation of the labour market and the professional qualities that they most value in candidates who aspire to work in their firms.

Marta Gil addresses the conference

From Caixabank, with offices in twenty-two countries, Beatriz Alventosa, Director of Sales and Marketing in the Valencian Autonomous Region, stated that they tend to value ‘the attitude of the candidate rather than the aptitude’. From the legal sector, Amparo Bru, an associated solicitor at Cuatrecasas, highlighted the importance that her company places on having a high level of English and other languages. ‘We require all of our candidates to have a minimum C1 Advanced level of English. If they speak other languages as well, all the better. We don’t hire anyone without these skills’.

After the addresses by the companies, there was a relaxed networking session during which the former students were able to exchange impressions in order to form new ideas that they can use in their professional careers.

For her part, Araceli Císcar, Chief Executive Officer of Dacsa Group, which currently has nine production facilities with several outside of Spain, took the opportunity to point out the important contribution that the agricultural sector makes to the economy of the Valencian Autonomous Region, as well as the challenges that they face with regards to sustainability. About their employees, she declared that ‘what we look for is for them to be entrepreneurs, to bring new ideas, to improve constantly, to know how to observe their surroundings and to have a strategic vision’. From the industrial sector, the Guzmán Global group’s Director of People Development, Carlos Andérez, commented that they ‘prefer people who have aspirations and don’t place limits on themselves’.

This meeting, which served to connect ideas and learn what companies look for in future employees, was also aimed at promoting a new mentoring programme between companies and Secondary and Sixth Form students. In this way, the students of this British school have available to them a valuable source of careers orientation with working professionals from different sectors. Representatives from the companies will visit classrooms and describe what their job is like and how the students can prepare for it. Pupils can also choose to spend a day at the company and shadow the employee in order to gain firsthand experience of the profession.

Alicia González, Postgraduate Director at EDEM, assured that from her teaching perspective she looks for students to have ‘a culture of effort, initiative and leadership’, which are central values at the firm Mercadona. At Erre Arquitectos, José Martí, a partner at the firm, stated that he doesn’t believe so much in degrees as in the values that people have. ‘We like for people to listen well, to be good people, to be humble and cheerful. Of course, they have to be very good on a technical level, but that’s not enough if they don’t fulfil the other requirements’. Isabel Peyró, Team Manager at IKEA, with sixteen locations in Spain, assured that they look for their employees to have ‘enthusiasm for their work as well as initiative’, and in this she coincided with Sara Coffé, Director of Sales and Marketing at Grupo Vithas, with 48 hospitals, who also highlighted that ‘it’s essential to have integrity and for each employee to bring something different to the company’.

With these shared experiences, the academic and business communities come together to prepare students who will be able to face their challenges effectively in a volatile and highly competitive work environment.