Number of businesses at Basque Technology Parks rises, with increased turnover and job creation in 2015

• A significant increase can be observed in the number of employees under the age of 30 and university graduates.

• The combined turnover of the companies in 2015 rose 11.5 % with respect to the previous financial year.

• The number of new companies installed last year was 68.8% higher than in 2014.

• Support for R&D in the companies continues to increase, expenditure in 2015 amounting to 495 million Euros.

Once again this year the Basque Technology Parks have conducted a survey on activity among the firms installed at the different campuses. If a significant improvement could already be observed in 2014 with respect to the previous year, confirming a gradual recovery, the figures for the end of 2015 are more than optimistic. In general terms, all the areas analysed have improved considerably.

The number of companies installed has increased by 6.7% reaching 429, of which 54 are newly installed firms. This is an increase of 68.8% in the number of companies who have chosen the Basque Parks for their future growth. In addition, the combined turnover of the companies has also risen significantly. 2015 closed with an 11.5% increase, reaching 4,312 million Euros. In this section, the 39% increase in turnover at the Guipuzkoa Science and Technology Park is to be highlighted. This is due to the inclusion of the Galarreta Campus with companies with significant numbers of employees, turnover and investment in R&D.

R&D

Investment in R&D continues to be essential both for the companies and for the institutions, such that the number of companies specialising in R&D at the parks has reached 225. The number of personnel employed in R&D at the end of the year has also increased, amounting to 4,617 jobs. Businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of investing in R&D, and consequently are allocating more and more financial and human resources to this area.

To sum up, company expenditure on R&D also increased in 2015, with an expenditure of 495 million Euros, amounting to a rise of 4.2%.

Job creation

Another important area emerging from the annual survey is the creation of new jobs, the combined staff of the three parks increasing 6.6% to 15,918 jobs at the end of the year. Attention should also be drawn to the significant rise in contracts for personnel under the age of 30, up 22.1%, equivalent to 570 new jobs. The number of graduates also increased, by 17.1%, giving an overall figure of 7,404 graduates employed by the different companies in the Parks.

“Incubators”, creation and consolidation of companies

The investment by the Basque Government, and by the three Basque regional governments in the business incubators, BICs, installed in the three Basque Parks, has clearly contributed to the rise in both the number of jobs and in the creation of new companies. The support received from the institutions and the availability of state-of-the-art installations for the establishment of new business projects have been key to the good results obtained.

Impact on GDP

On analysing the results from a general point of view and looking at their influence on the Basque Country GDP, we see that, as with the other figures, the results have improved in comparison with 2014. The combined turnover of the companies from the three Basque Parks amounts to 5.5 % of the GDP in Euskadi.

The influence of the firms on employment in our community amounts to 5.4% of the total, in addition to more than 3,500 indirect jobs in the so-called “exterior services”.

Lastly, we note the impact of the companies at the Parks on tax revenue, a figure which exceeds 621 million Euros.

Assessment

From the presidency of the Basque Network of Technology Parks, José Miguel Corres highlights the good results obtained. The president of the Parks stated that “a moderately good situation has enabled the clear improvement of the technology firms, which moreover, had ridden through the worst years of the recession significantly better than the rest of the business network. The companies located at the Parks have always foreshadowed improvements in the economy. Their special position in the market, their relative youth, and their business sectors are usually the first to respond to positive signs from the market, and on this occasion it has not been any different”.

Lastly, Corres added that “the Parks act as local agents and as such, above all, as enablers, and we are at the disposal of our companies for their every need”.