October 21, 2025
With over a decade of experience in advertising and brand management, Eva Aramendía joined Fira de Barcelona in 2023, participating in the Expoquimia and Equiplast projects. Late last year, Aramendía took over the directorships of Bizbarcelona and the Employment Fair, two events that are already benchmarks for boosting the business fabric and the labor market in the Catalan capital. The next editions of both events will be held on October 15 and 16 at the Montjuïc venue.
1. Congratulations on your appointment as director of Bizbarcelona and the Employment Fair. What challenges have you set for yourself in this new stage leading both fairs?
Thank you very much. Upon assuming the leadership of these two fairs, the mandatory priority I set for myself was to understand, and above all, to comprehend the needs of the different stakeholders that make up the city’s economic and employment fabric: SMEs, freelancers, small businesses, administrations, and entities. With this in mind, my aim is to strengthen these fairs as meeting points for stakeholders who need to interact and, therefore, need each other.
In the case of Bizbarcelona, we want to consolidate this fair as the great platform for supporting business activity and professionals who drive and lead their own businesses. In this sense, I believe it is key to reinforce the offering of knowledge that is eminently practical, that can be applied to the day-to-day of projects, as well as facilitating connection between people, which ultimately is the best way to advance ideas. As for the Employment Fair, the great challenge is to support people in their job search, regardless of their age and employment situation. The goal is to offer people tools and techniques to improve their professional skills and ensure their relationship with a changing labor market is as optimal as possible.
2. Bizbarcelona and the Employment Fair are two benchmark events for entrepreneurship and talent. What is your vision for further enhancing this dual event?
Despite sharing space and dates, Bizbarcelona and the Employment Fair are independent events, with different focuses and audiences: the first concentrates on business management and growth, and the second, on professional guidance and improvement for individuals. However, both proposals maintain the same spirit, which I mentioned in the previous answer: to achieve a real impact. Because it is the tangible results in individual or business terms that, through accumulation, explain the real and effective growth of a productive economy within the framework of an advanced and complex society like ours.
How is this put into practice? If we look, for example, at Bizbarcelona, this year’s edition has been planned with a very practical and collaborative approach: we want to offer solutions that can be directly applied and help businesses grow. That is why we have strengthened workshops and networking with more dynamic formats, and the program — with 160 activities — includes conferences, workshops with experts, and personalized advice. In addition, we have also expanded the Village with about seventy companies and entities that present services for business management. As for the Employment Fair, its more than 140 activities are very focused on personalized advice, skills training, and direct connection with job opportunities.
3. What role do you think local entities and other ecosystem agents should play in the development and success of these events?
In the case of these two fairs, collaboration between stakeholders, whether public or private, is key. With Bizbarcelona, we see this very clearly. It is a fair that we have been organizing at Fira de Barcelona for over 10 years, but this has been possible because we have had the support of a long list of entities: from the City Council — through Barcelona Activa — to the Provincial Council, as well as PIMEC or the Chamber of Commerce, among others. This choral involvement allows for the accumulation of knowledge from many perspectives — institutional, technical, etc. — and this clearly contributes to enriching the offering.
4. How can Bizbarcelona and the Employment Fair help build bridges between entrepreneurship, the labor market, and training?
Companies need to incorporate talent, and people need to access the labor market. This means that the coincidence of both fairs benefits both stakeholders, as it allows for the creation of a more dynamic ecosystem where a virtuous circle is generated in which business growth and job creation feed into each other.
5. From your point of view, what are the main challenges facing entrepreneurs and those seeking job opportunities in Catalonia today?
The keyword is change. Small and medium-sized entrepreneurs must constantly rethink their strategies to adapt to a dynamic and constantly evolving market; companies must seek different talent that allows them to stay at the forefront of their respective sectors, and individuals must constantly retrain to ensure healthy employability. We are talking about knowing how to find funding channels to boost business projects, integrating the latest technological innovations into business operations, learning new techniques for conducting selection processes, knowing how to create personalized resumes with the help of Artificial Intelligence assistants… In this context, Bizbarcelona and the Employment Fair are so relevant: they offer practical knowledge, advice, and connections that can make a difference.
6. Looking beyond this edition, how do you envision the evolution of Bizbarcelona and the Employment Fair in the coming years?
I imagine continuing along the lines I have mentioned throughout the interview, offering attendees concrete solutions. Because the most elevated and abstract reflections are important, but what concerns a small business, or a person looking for a job, is the reality of their daily life: How can I retain talent in my organization? How can I use Artificial Intelligence to improve my processes? How should I approach an interview in the context of a selection process? In my opinion, a positive evolution of our fairs involves offering concrete answers to real and everyday problems.
7. Autoocupació’s motto is “I am what I want to be.” Are you?
That’s a difficult question to answer. In my opinion, people should aspire to be what they want to be now. Because the world changes so fast that, at least in professional and career terms, priorities are less immutable than ever. That’s why I believe the statement needs to be framed temporally. Now? Yes, I am.
