Thirty-four percent of employers around the world are struggling to find qualified talent, according to the Talent Shortage Survey by ManpowerGroup.
Although 56 percent of respondents report that unfilled positions should have little or no impact on constituents, such as customers and investors, this is a jump from 36 percent in 2011.
"Talent shortages are endemic, but employers have gotten used to doing more with less and hesitate to hire until they see demand and can find talent with the specific skills they need," says Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO. "Surprisingly, employers are now less concerned about the impact of these shortages on customers and investors, a perspective, which signals acceptance of the new normal.
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"Employers should not presume that stakeholders will continue to look past shortcomings in service and performance resulting from lean structures. Leaving positions unfilled may be a short-term fix, but it's a short sighted and unsustainable approach to addressing talent shortages in the Human Age, when talentism, the new capitalism, is valued as the driver of business success. Employers must find solutions to help them address shortages and close specific skills gaps, such as investing in training and partnering with educators."
Thirty-three percent of respondents are reporting difficulty in filling positions because there is a lack of applicants, representing an increase from last year's 24 percent, while another 33 percent of respondents say it is because of a lack of technical competencies and hard skills say, up from 22 percent in 2011. Still, among the respondents that are concerned about the talent shortages, they are becoming slightly more proactive about closing the skills gaps. In fact, one in four respondents are addressing this problem by providing training and development for existing employees. More respondents are also hiring job candidates who do not have all of the prerequisite job skills but have potential to learn and grow into their job roles.
Of the most challenging jobs to fill are skilled trades workers, engineers and sales representatives, the survey finds. In particular, skilled trades and engineers have become harder to find because the demand surpasses supply while sales representatives are difficult to recruit because respondents are still seeking out experienced sales people who can help drive revenue growth.
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