According to the eighth annual talent shortage survey from staffing firm ManpowerGroup, 39% of employers in all industries across the U.S. are experiencing difficulty filling open positions within their organizations, despite the fact that unemployment is at a mediocre 7.5% and millions of people are still desperate for jobs.
ManpowerGroup surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. employers in the first quarter of 2013 to determine which workers rank among the most-wanted. As it turns out, the most difficult positions to fill are those in skilled trades, which includes carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other tool-wielding professionals. Those workers, also known as craftsmen or artisans, typically develop their skills through training as apprentices. They top Manpower’s list for a fourth consecutive year.
“Talent is elusive, and the reason is there is a great divide between the talent available and the talent desired by employers,” says Melanie Holmes, a vice president at ManpowerGroup. “To put it simply, there is a talent mismatch.”
Holmes says year after year, the talent shortage survey reveals that employers struggle to fill vacancies. “No matter how prosperous or perilous the environment, talent is always difficult to find. In the U.S. specifically, there is an under-supply of in-demand talent. Employers have very specific skill requirements, and they can’t always find the ‘purple squirrel.’"
Another factor is the tremendous advances in technology in a very short period of time, she adds. "Technology has changed the work environment dramatically, leaving behind those who have been out of the workforce for an extended period.”
In Pictures: The 10 Hardest Jobs To Fill In America
Holmes says this survey should be useful to anyone with a vested interest in the labor market, including employers, job seekers, government entities, and academics. "Understanding the talent shortage situation aids all parties in strategic planning. From understanding the talent pipeline, to curriculum development, to determining skills to acquire, knowing the type of talent in demand is critical.”
And this is more important than ever.
Why?
As hiring picks up in the U.S. and more positions are available, Holmes expects that the talent mismatch will become even more apparent. "During the recession, employers made broad, deep cuts to their workforces. They learned to do more with less," she explains. "People who remained employed expanded their roles; they picked up new skills, they added responsibilities.”
As a result, many of the jobs that were cut during that time are not coming back. They have morphed into higher skill and higher paying positions. Consequently employers are more selective about the skills they require for an open job.
“They are looking for people who have multiple skill sets and varied backgrounds, and those individuals are hard to find, especially among individuals who have been out of the job market for an extended period of time,” adds Holmes.
In Pictures: The 10 Hardest Jobs To Fill In America
According to the survey results, 48% of employers say they are having trouble filling jobs because candidates lack technical competencies and/or hard skills. A close second, 38% of employers, say that candidates lack workplace competencies and/or soft skills. The third most common reason employers say they are having difficulty hiring for certain position: lack of applicants (32%).
When looking at skilled trade professions shortage specifically, there are several forces at play. “From a demographics standpoint, the supply of skilled trade workers is impacted by the aging and subsequent retirement of baby boomers,” Holmes says. “As we’re losing workers to retirement, we’re finding there is not enough young talent to fill the ranks. We have seen less emphasis on steering youth toward vocational and technical programs over the last 20 years, and now we’re feeling the impact.”
Part of solving this problem involves changing the mindsets of parents and young people and bringing honor back to the skilled trades, she says. Careers in areas like plumbing and welding offer a lot of opportunity and family-sustaining wages.
It turns out geography also plays a significant role. Skilled trades workers may be in short supply in one region but find it tough to find a job elsewhere, she says.
In Pictures: The 10 Hardest Jobs To Fill In America
Elsewhere on the list: Engineers and IT staff.
“In the U.S., many of our foundational education programs lack an emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills,” Holmes explains. “When youth are not exposed to these subjects early, they are less likely to pursue careers in the engineering and IT fields. We are seeing more STEM programs launch in communities across the United States, and that is one way we can boost the number of graduates in these fields and start to address the talent shortages.”
Holmes says a collaborative approach is needed to solve talent shortages. Leaders from the business world, government, and educational institutions need to work together to understand the skills needed today and tomorrow in the workforce, and jointly develop training programs “that turn out individuals who are work ready, not just graduate ready.”
Individuals also need to take an active role in their career development, she says. “Everyone needs to be a lifelong learner, acquiring new, marketable skills on an ongoing basis. In the past, we talked about job security, but today we need to talk about employment security. In other words, there is a need to focus more on your skills profile to ensure that regardless of your position with any given company, you have marketable, in-demand skills that are applicable to a host of jobs and employers.”
Finally, employers need to broaden their approach to recruiting and hiring, Holmes concludes. “Employers must leverage flexible workforce models that integrate a dynamic mix of workers; advance contemporary people practices that redefine how talent is hired, rewarded, engaged and developed; and improve talent pipelines by tapping different resources of talent and re-skilling current employees.”
In Pictures: The 10 Hardest Jobs To Fill In America
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