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Skills gap and recruitment efforts

World Pipelines,


According to a new survey from pwc, more organisations are planning a hiring spree over the next year as their growth prospects improve. However, nearly 63% of respondents said that they are concerned that they won’t be able to find the people with the skills they require to fill these positions.

Survey key points

The global survey of over 1300 CEOs in 68 countries revealed that after a number of years of headcount cuts, half of the organisations surveyed are looking to hire again. Organisations in the Middle East, South East Asia and China are planning to make the most net hires over the next year, while business services, insurance and technology are the sectors looking to make the most net hires.

Despite the positive outlook, the research has revealed that business leaders are more concerned than ever about being able to find the right people to fill these roles. 63% of CEOs say the availability of key skills is the biggest business threat to their organisation’s growth. CEOS in Africa, South East Asia and South Africa are most concerned about the lack of skills. Technology and engineering firms are struggling the most with the shortage of skilled employees.

The skills gap is growing and the rising cost of labour in emerging markets is forcing organisations to look to new markets for talent. Many multinationals have already raided the graduate pool and skilled young workers emerging from China and India, and there are signs that employees in these regions are beginning to favour domestic employers over Western rivals. Organisations are now widening their reach for new talent into Indonesia, Vietnam and The Philippines.

Plugging the gap

The research has shown that companies are now looking to government to aid with plugging the skills gap. Two in five CEOs said that creating a skilled workforce should be one of the government’s top three priorities and 52% believe that regulation is hampering their ability to attract the best people. Only one in five feel that their government has been effective in improving workforce skills in their region.

In contrast, 93% of business leaders said they need to change their strategy for attracting and retaining talent, but three in five haven’t taken any steps to do so yet.

Comments

Michael Rendell, Global HE consulting leader, pwc said, "The gap between the skills of the current workforce and the skills businesses need to achieve their growth plans is widening. Despite rising business confidence equating to more jobs, organisations are struggling to find the right people to fill these positions.

"Half of CEOs plan to hire more people in the next 12 months, meaning competition for talent will be intense at the same time as the battleground has been redrawn. Business leaders are looking for people with a far wider range of skills than ever before. Gone are the days of life time careers; chameleon like employees who apply their skills whenever and wherever they’re needed are now in high demand.

"Businesses need to get out of the mindset that new skills equals new people. The most successful organisations will combine recruitment with developing their own people to be more adaptable to its changing plans.

"CEOs are laying much of the blame for the skills shortage at the feet of the government and legislators, but they should accept that they need to rethink the way they think about, look for and value their employees. CEOs should be taking advantage of the developments in HR data analytics to predict the skills they will need and plan for changes in demand and supply."


Adapted from a press release by Claira Lloyd.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/20052014/skills_gap_growth_pwc_report553/

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