Big data is driving the training and recruitment of talent in BBVA

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

The demand for scientists and data engineers and experts in big data continues to increase, mainly in profiles linked to the world of mathematics, computer science, statistics, science and economics.

BBVA has highlighted the important steps it has taken to boost this type of talent in the organization, both through internal training and through recruitment initiatives.

As explained by the financial institution, in the course of a minute almost four million searches have been carried out worldwide on Google, sent 188 million emails and sent almost 42 million messages through services such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

This is only part of what happens on the Internet in 60 seconds. Information that, in isolation, means nothing, but that if combined and analyzed constitutes an important value for the companies that incorporate it into the planning of their strategies. It is the big data. A relatively recent tool, but for which specialized professionals are required.

Many organizations have already decided to base their decisions on the information they obtain from the analysis of large amounts of data. For this, it is necessary to have profiles that have knowledge of the whole process, from the introduction of the data to its analysis and protection.

The sectors in which they are most needed are those that have traditionally based their strategy on the data culture, and that already have a significant volume of them. The most significant are financial and insurance, but also telecommunications, transport companies and the public sector.

Big data is a transversal technology. Experts in this field will be required at different levels of the companies. All of them will require people with the capacity for analysis, data storage management and programming, which opens up a path full of opportunities in the labor market.

Talent recruitment and training

At BBVA, the promotion of specialized talent in these areas is a key pillar of the bank's commitment to become a data driven or data driven organization. This strategy includes, on the one hand, the training of people who are already part of BBVA, through initiatives such as Trascendence, an internal plan to train data scientists, specialists and advanced data analysts throughout the Group.

And on the other, through talent acquisition initiatives, such as Young Data Professionals, a program designed to recruit and train the best young talent specialized in advanced analytics.

The program is already in its second edition in Spain and is also present in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Peru. Through this initiative, candidates seeking degrees in scientific careers such as engineering, mathematics or physics are sought, as well as masters of ‘big data’ and artificial intelligence to join BBVA.

In total, BBVA aims to have some 2,000 advanced analysts in the organization at the end of 2021, of which more than 800 will be data scientists. This will be achieved mainly through internal training and training programs, but also through the acquisition of new profiles.

In addition, to concentrate the group's efforts in the advanced analytical data area, BBVA has created the AI ​​Factory, a global development center for the creation of artificial intelligence capabilities.

The new center initially has a team of 150 people and integrates multidisciplinary profiles that include data scientists, engineers and software developers, data architects, as well as 'business translators', whose role is to serve as a bridge between analytical capabilities and business needs.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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