The Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community lead the curiosity in opposition, adopted by Madrid and Catalonia | Training | Economy | EUROtoday

For years, taking the examination was synonymous with an early vocation, an nearly monastic research routine and infinite persistence. Today, increasingly, it’s one thing else, a choice that typically comes late, and that doesn’t at all times need to do with fulfilling a dream, however with one thing way more prosaic: with the ability to arrange one’s life. Know while you work, while you relaxation and the way a lot you earn on the finish of the month. Nothing epic, however decisive.

That is among the clearest conclusions that leaves The weight of the opponent in Spain 2025the research carried out by OpositaTest, and likewise a type of that finest explains why oppositions have as soon as once more occupied a central place within the debate on employment. Not as a refuge from the non-public sector, however as a rational response to an more and more unpredictable labor market.

“What those who want to take the exam tell us the most is this: “I would like to have the ability to arrange my life,” summarizes Jacobo Fariña, the platform’s communications manager. The predictability of time – schedules, shifts and breaks – appears as the great driver of the decision, even ahead of the salary. “The feeling isn’t solely that of ‘on the lookout for a job’, however that of discovering a secure framework that permits one to plan one’s life within the quick and medium time period,” he adds. Something that, for many profiles, has become almost a luxury.

Different territories, the same need

The map of interest in opposition draws a Spain with contrasts, but also with revealing coincidences. The Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community lead the intention to oppose, both with 31%, despite representing very different labor realities. In the archipelago, the weight of tourism marks the labor market, with abundant but very seasonal employment and schedules that are difficult to reconcile. In the Valencian Community, also closely linked to the tourism sector, fragility and uncertainty weigh more heavily, with work trajectories often chained to temporary contracts.

“You get to the same place through different paths,” summarizes Jacobo Fariña. “In the Balearic Islands there could also be work, however with a variety of rotation, a variety of momentary work and schedules which can be tough to reconcile. In the Valencian Community, the sensation of instability or job fragility weighs extra closely. In each instances, the message they convey to us may be very comparable: “I want stability and to know what to expect.”

Madrid and Catalonia seem very shut, with 24% of individuals contemplating taking the examination: a proven fact that dismantles the concept public employment solely seduces the place non-public alternate options are missing: “Even in cities where there are more job options, there is still a high interest in public employment,” says Fariña. But why? “Skilled employment in large urban centers can be very competitive, but also unpredictable. And, in the face of that, public employment offers clear rules, stability and a more understandable framework. In a way, it is also a wake-up call to the private market, which is not always managing to retain talent if it does not offer better conditions,” he argues.

When requested why oppositions arouse essentially the most curiosity, the reply is as soon as once more sensible. Administration, training and the Postal Service prime the checklist, not a lot for status as for viability. “Behind it there is usually a very clear idea: “I see this as possible,” summarizes Fariña. “They are competitions with a large number of places, and that makes many people perceive that, with effort, they can achieve it. It is not just a matter of taste, but of probability.”

An more and more calculated resolution

That important calculation doesn’t come up from nowhere. In current years, public job affords have reached historic figures: within the General State Administration alone, it reached 39,574 positions in 2023; broke the file once more in 2024, with 40,146; and stood at 36,588 in 2025, to which we should add the regional and native calls. In all instances, these are very excessive volumes which have considerably expanded the variety of actual alternatives for entry to public employment.

This sustained improve in provide has had a direct impact on competitors. In a number of state our bodies, particularly in intermediate classes, the ratio of candidates per place has been considerably lowered in only one or two years. Taking the examination continues to be demanding, however it not at all times means going through dozens of candidates for a single place, which has strengthened the notion that effort can have a tangible reward.

The profile of the opponent has additionally modified. Far from the stereotype of the lately graduated younger particular person, as we speak an individual of mature age predominates, principally girls, with intermediate or larger training and several other years of labor expertise. Many mix preparation with full-time employment, and the opposition doesn’t seem as a place to begin, however reasonably as a strategic flip after verifying the bounds of labor trajectories marked by temporality or lack of predictability.

“When we talk about predictability of the weather it is because it appears very clearly as a key attraction,” insists Jacobo Fariña. “For many people, balancing and being able to plan weighs a lot. Salary matters, but the decision often leans toward having clearer schedules and a more orderly day-to-day life, especially when there are children or family responsibilities.”

That doesn’t imply that everybody who considers taking the opposition finally ends up taking the step. The research detects, in truth, a transparent hole between those that acknowledge a need to oppose and people who lastly select to take action. “The intention is high, but not everyone takes action,” clarifies the OpositaTest spokesperson. “And those who finally decide usually do so when several aspects come together: a clear call, time and resources to prepare them, and realistic expectations.” Logically, the quantity of obtainable locations additionally influences, which appears to proceed to be excessive sooner or later: “In recent years we have had record numbers and, with the planned retirements and stabilization processes, everything indicates that there will continue to be numerous offers.”

Therefore, seen as a complete, the rise of oppositions doesn’t converse a lot of a flight from the non-public sector as of a seek for certainties, of the necessity to carry some order to more and more fragmented work trajectories. Opposing is not simply an aspiration for stability: it’s, for a lot of, a calculated resolution within the face of a market the place uncertainty has turn out to be the brand new norm.