With labor force participation at its lowest point in over 40 years, employers no longer have the option of holding out for the cream of the crop in job candidates. In many cases, organizations have to be flexible about job qualifications and requirements to find people to fill their open positions.
Employers in every industry are facing hiring challenges
The old saying has never been more true, good people are hard to find.
In virtually every industry, the results are the same. Most employers say that it’s “challenging” to find skilled professionals who have the knowledge and experience to become valuable assets to the organization. Add to that, the fact that many people don’t want to work, or work hard, and the employee pool is even shallower. Below is a brief overview of the statistics on the demand for skilled talent:
- Finance: 96% have difficulty finding qualified workers, particularly in budgets and analysis, finance and FP&A, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and bookkeeping.
- Administration and customer support: 85% have difficulty finding qualified workers, particularly in customer service and customer experience, account management, call centers, project management and co-ordination, and logistics.
- Human resources: 85% have difficulty finding qualified workers, particularly in management and leadership, recruiting and talent sourcing, and human resources information systems.
- Marketing and creative services: 98% have difficulty finding qualified workers, particularly in project management, traffic and operations, and digital design and production.
- Technology: 94% have difficulty finding qualified workers, particularly in data science and database administration, business intelligence, analysis and reporting, and cloud architecture and operation.
Reasons for the shortage of skilled talent
There are several reasons why demand for skilled talent is outpacing supply on such a grand scale. For starters, with so many employers offering remote work options, job seekers are no longer limited by their geographical location. They can work for an employer on the other side of the globe, which means that organizations looking for local talent must now compete with the world rather than just their immediate area.
Acquiring skills requires investment, in terms of time and money. Many individuals simply don’t have the option of devoting their own resources to job training. And many organizations have dropped the ball by not offering professional development programs that upskill their workforce. Professional development and career advancement are more important to today’s talent pool than compensation.
What does this mean for employers who want to build a robust team in 2022? In many cases, their best bet is to hire eager but under-qualified people and invest in training them. The good news is that it’s easier than ever to offer high quality training options that are accessible, flexible, and customizable. Jigsaw Interactive’s virtual learning solutions give employers the power to train and develop their workforce, no matter where they are. Schedule a demo to see how it works.
