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Around 50% of adults are sitting competitive examinations or are considering doing so.
MAD has published a study on the overall view of competitive examinations in Spain, in which GAD3 has provided technical support to analyse the perception of candidates. The results allow us to outline the profile of candidates: the proportion of people preparing for competitive examinations is significantly higher among those with children or dependents, exceeding 50% in the latter group. Likewise, the proportion of candidates grows progressively with work experience, reaching its peak among those with 3 to 5 years of work experience (60%), and then declining among those with more than 5 years. This shows that preparation for competitive examinations is concentrated, above all, in the intermediate stages of a professional career.
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41% take online courses compared to 24% who attend face-to-face classes.
When it comes to preparation methods in Spain, among current candidates, the main method of preparation is online courses with live classes, chosen by 27% of those surveyed. Meanwhile, among potential candidates, both those with a planned date and those who have not yet set one, face-to-face academies predominate, with 32% and 30%, respectively. In addition, among active candidates, the use of personal notes is quite common, reaching 16%.
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What is your main reason for taking the competitive examination?
We asked respondents about their motivation for taking the competitive examination. The main reason, both among current and potential candidates, is the search for job stability, cited by 48% and 51% of respondents respectively. This was followed by professional vocation, with 21% and 15%, and work-life balance, with 20% and 24%. Among active candidates, the main sources of stress are the fear of not getting a place for 43% of respondents, lack of time to study for 39% and uncertainty about the calls for applications for 33%.
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Organisation, planning and perseverance.
Among current candidates, the most common advice for future candidates focuses on organising their time properly and planning their studies, as well as persevering despite the difficulties. They also highlight the importance of choosing the right preparation method, being realistic about the effort involved in sitting the exam and starting well in advance to avoid rushing.
Technical specifications
Universe: Current candidates and potential candidates who do not rule out studying for a competitive examination in the future.
Scope: National.
Information collection procedure: Computer-assisted web interview (CAWI).
Sample size: 1,515 interviews.
Quotas: By gender, age, and geography according to population distribution (INE)
Sampling error: ± 2.5%, (n = 1,515) for a confidence level of 95.5% (two sigmas) and in the worst-case scenario of P=Q=0.5 in the case of simple random sampling.
Duration of the interview: approximately 5-7 minutes
Fieldwork dates: 18-23 July 2025.
