Where can I get free help finding a job in Barcelona?

Two free services do most of the work. Barcelona Activa, the council’s employment agency, gives one-to-one advice, courses and access to job vacancies. The SOC (Servei Públic d’Ocupació de Catalunya, the Catalan public employment service) registers you as a jobseeker, which you need for unemployment benefit, for many free training courses, and for a 70 per cent discount on Catalan classes.

Does this apply to me

Barcelona Activa is open to everyone, including people who do not live in Barcelona; only a few neighbourhood-specific programmes are restricted, and those say so.

Registering with the SOC is free and voluntary, open both to people out of work and to people already working who want a better job — it is compulsory only if you are claiming unemployment benefit. Which route you use depends on your document:

Both routes assume you hold a residence authorisation. If you do not, ask SAIER (Servei d’Atenció a Immigrants, Emigrants i Refugiats, Barcelona City Council’s free service for migrants and refugees) or one of the unions what you can register for before you ring.

What it costs

Free, on both sides. Barcelona Activa’s advice, courses and job-matching carry no charge, and its reskilling courses are described as free in as many words on its own site. SOC registration is free. Nobody should ever ask you to pay to be put forward for a job: a placement agency or a temping firm (empresa de treball temporal, or ETT) may not take a share of your wages.

What to bring

• Your passport, and your NIE or your TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the foreigner identity card) if you hold one.
• Your certificate from the padrón (Barcelona City Council’s register of residents).
• A CV — Barcelona Activa will help you write one if you have not got one.
• Any certificates or references from work you have done, here or in the Philippines.
• Your NUSS (número de la Seguridad Social, your social security number) if you have ever worked in Spain.

Where to go, and how to book

Four routes.

• 1. Ring Barcelona Activa on 900 533 175, Mon–Fri 09:00–18:00, or email porta22 at barcelonactiva.cat (where this guide writes “at”, type the at-sign), and ask for an appointment with an adviser.
• 2. Porta22, their main careers centre, is at Carrer de la Llacuna 156-162, 08018, in Sant Martí. Telephone 934 019 899.
• 3. Barcelona Activa says it is present at more than 50 points across the city and its metropolitan area. Named district sites on its own locations page:

An appointment is needed to be seen in person.

• 4. For the SOC: if you have a DNI, register online and you get your DARDO document straight away. If you have a NIE linked to a residence authorisation, you cannot do it online — ring 930 886 200, Mon–Fri 08:30–14:00, and staff from the employment offices will register you.

How long it takes

SOC registration online is immediate. By phone it takes one call. A first appointment with a Barcelona Activa adviser depends on demand, so book rather than turn up.

What happens next

From the SOC you get the DARDO, the document proving you are registered as a jobseeker. Keep it: it is what gets you the 70 per cent reduction on CPNL (Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística, the public body that teaches Catalan) course fees, and access to subsidised training. To claim that reduction you need a certificate from the SOC or the SEPE. From Barcelona Activa you get a named adviser, a plan, and access to vacancies they screen for location, pay, length and non-discrimination.

What goes wrong

• 1. If you register with the SOC online, you must contact the employment office within 30 days to complete your professional profile. If you do not, your application is deactivated and you have to start again. Ring 930 886 200 or book an appointment at the office the same week you register.
• 2. If you were once registered with a NIE and now hold a DNI, you must go to the office in person to change the identifier. It cannot be done online, and until it is done your record is split in two.

One more thing before you book a course

Barcelona Activa teaches mainly in Catalan; some activities are in Spanish or English, and each course page says which. If your Catalan is not there yet, the beginner levels at the CPNL cost nothing.

Useful words

Read next

• What are my rights at work in Spain, and what if I clean or care for someone in their home? Read it before you accept anything.
• Where can I learn Catalan, and how much does it cost? The beginner levels are free and your DARDO cuts the paid ones.
• How do I get my Philippine degree or diploma recognised in Spain? Do this before you apply for work in a regulated profession.

Official source

Barcelona Activa, treball.barcelonactiva.cat, and its locations page at treball.barcelonactiva.cat/ca/web/treball/on-som. SOC jobseeker registration is at serveiocupacio.gencat.cat, under “Inscriu-te com a demandant d’ocupació”.