Spanish Bus Company Seeks Moroccan Drivers Amid Labor Shortage

Alsa’s president, Jacobo Cosmen, announced the group’s intention to recruit professional drivers in Morocco, "a country in which we already operate and have selection processes," and in Latin America due to "linguistic facilities". The shortage of drivers is a global problem that Alsa is trying to turn into a challenge, he explained.

"When we started operating in Lisbon, we had to bring in drivers from Cape Verde," Cosmen said, during his participation in the conference entitled "Active employment policies, a pillar of the European Year of Skills", organized in Barcelona as part of Spain’s EU presidency.

"Our customers don’t come to our offices and that’s why our drivers are the ambassadors of our brand. The fact that they have a smile, are trained in safety and care about sustainability is what sets us apart," Cosmen said, stressing the lack of skilled labor in the urban mobility sector.

Alsa transports 530 million people a year in 6,000 vehicles and employs 16,000 people. But challenges remain. Europe has more than a million bus and coach drivers, but "in five years, the needs will double, because out of this million drivers, 40% are over 55 and only 3% are under 25," he notes.