What is Thales Edisoft’s involvement with AED?
Thales, which has been in Portugal for 35 years through Edisoft, now known as Thales Edisoft Portugal, holds a central position in the development of the Portuguese aerospace and defense sectors. Based on this, we have always been deeply involved in fostering a national ecosystem of companies from the space, aeronautics, and defense domains. Through AED, which was formed five years ago through the merger of three associations, a strong cluster was created, providing visibility to the sector and its growth in recent years. Hence, the support we provide to AED has always been fundamental and strategic.
The sector has been evolving consistently. Is there still ample room for further growth?
Absolutely! There is a lot of room for growth. In recent years, especially in the last three, we have witnessed a more robust influx of companies from other origins into Portugal. Major players, such as Airbus, have entered the market, providing Portugal with the opportunity to create scale and operate in multiple areas within this segment. We have been collaborating extensively with many of these major players in other countries, and their presence in Portugal now enables us to work on projects within the country, which clearly brings a new level of scale and opportunity.
An issue that has been pointed out as critical is that of human resources, the ability of companies to attract talent. How has Thales been experiencing this issue?
Human resources are a central concern. We understand that above all, it is necessary to value the human capabilities that Portugal possesses. Not only in technical aspects but also in soft skills. I believe there has been significant growth in the abilities of people working in this sector, through international project experiences and increased openness to different geographies and markets. Of course, we need to train more people, to have more engineering professionals in Portugal. Clearly, it is a promising field for the future. It is also crucial that this training remains robust and continuous. We have been growing. Throughout Thales, we have 700 employees in Portugal. Therefore, the development of skills and various competencies is very important to us. We also have experienced professionals, enabling us to undertake projects of greater complexity than before. Undoubtedly, there are challenges in recruitment, but this is a common issue across Europe. However, on the other hand, there is also more experience available.
What makes a difference when hiring?
In my view, as a Portuguese, I believe that Portugal has a natural advantage within Europe due to the higher quality of life that can be achieved on average, outside of work. This advantage becomes a retention factor. Additionally, this sector pays significantly above the average of other sectors in the economy. Therefore, it is a sector that is clearly desirable to maintain and expand. Hence, it seems to me that in this field, Portugal is currently a highly competitive country. However, the Achilles’ heel of the country is currently its high tax burden.
One of the projects presented by Thales at the AED Days is one for maritime surveillance in a military context. Was it already being developed before the war or was it driven by the current situation?
Thales is the number one defense electronics supplier in Europe. We have been developing systems and working with major navies around the world for many years, making us leaders in the sector. Our focus has been on growth, as there is high demand for our systems. Portugal was chosen as the engineering center for the development of these types of systems. We already had an engineering center for the Air Traffic Management area, and now, more recently, due to increased demand amid the conflict situation in Europe, Portugal was selected to expand the capabilities of the Thales Group in the domain of maritime defense systems. This conflict has revealed that Europe was somewhat neglecting the defense sector. European armed forces were equipped with outdated material, leaving them relatively weak in the face of potential threats.
With obsolete equipment …
Obsolete in some cases, and in limited quantities in others. And suddenly, Europe woke up and realized that, first, it must have a common defense, a capacity that complements among the various countries, and it must have state-of-the-art equipment. Without state-of-the-art equipment, it is very difficult for us, Europeans, to ensure that we can continue to live according to our concepts of freedoms and guarantees, which we defend for our society. Because other societies, perhaps not sharing the same vision as ours, have been evolving and gaining capabilities, as we can see, and they may want to impose their will on us. And above all, we must have the ability to prevail. This is something that Europe must ensure internally. And Portugal can have a very relevant role in this aspect because we have highly qualified human resources, and we have companies that are already demonstrating significant experience in working with critical systems.