While today’s cartoon from Kronos brought a smile to my face, it reminded me of a serious post.
John Sumser over at HR Examiner wrote a great article earlier this week about the War for Talent. I know, I know – it’s an overused and abused phrase. But it’s true. There’s a real competition heating up for skilled workers.
Anyhoo, I digress. The article points out that vacant positions have returned to pre-recession levels. Which means the shift from jobs to skills has begun. You can check out John’s post here.
It begs the question. What lengths will companies resort to when they can’t find qualified workers?
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Corey Feldman says
It’s difficult with so many unemployed. But it takes time to go from an assembly line to writing code, working in healthcare.
Alex K says
Right now we are in a very strange sittuation – a lot of people are unable to find good jobs where they can develop ther skills and talent, while the middle and senior management positions are suffering from a very small talent pool that migrates from one company to the other.
If this doesn’t change in the next couple of years either companies will have to give more chances to people with less background but visible potential, or deal with passive, lower quality management teams.
Sharlyn Lauby says
You’re spot on Alex. Hopefully both individuals and companies are putting together plans to win this war on talent. Thanks for the comment!
Justin D says
Alex, welcome to the world of Skills Gaps. If we could close those gaps with a little bit of training the talent pool would be much larger. However, companies aren’t offering much training anymore because they are afraid once the workers are trained they will move on to a different company, and all of the time, energy, and money will be a waste.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for the comment Justin! It’s a Catch-22. If companies are afraid to train because employees will leave … then they are left with a bunch of untrained employees. That only hurts the company.
Offering training can be a great way for companies to demonstrate they are invested in an employee’s success.