You are in : Human Resources > Recruitment & Selection

Skills Shortage

Manpower survey: No skills no job

Mon, 23 May 2011 11:12

Manpower South Africa released the results of its 5th talent shortage survey, revealing 14% of employers in South Africa are experiencing difficulty filling mission-critical positions within their organisations. ManpowerGroup’s 6th annual Talent Shortage Survey reveals one in three employers worldwide are struggling to fill key vacancies.

Currently in South Africa, the jobs employers have most difficulty filling are drivers, machinists/ machine operators and accounting & finance staff whereas during 2010, skilled trades were the most difficult positions to fill, while in 2011 the pressure has been reduced and it now takes up 5th position with administrative assistants/office staff and chefs taking up the 9th and 10th positions respectively.

Peter Winn, Manpower South Africa Managing Director said: “While not all employers are feeling the strain associated with the global talent shortage, external forces will mostly likely result in them soon feeling the pressure. Businesses need to adopt a long-term approach to ensure they have the talent they need to achieve their business objectives. While talent cannot be “manufactured” in the short term, a robust workforce strategy will ensure a company’s business strategy is supported by having the talented people they need to execute it.”

ManpowerGroup’s Fresh Perspectives Paper, “Manufacturing Talent for the Human Age”, also released today, makes recommendations on how employers should address the conundrum of a scarcity of talent in the face of an abundance of available workers. It includes a holistic workforce strategy, updating work models and people practices to reflect the realities of the 21st Century and collaborating with governments, education and individuals.

“The fact that companies are citing a lack of skills or experience as a reason for talent shortages should be a wake-up call for organisations, the education sector, government and individuals,” added Winn. “It is imperative that these stakeholders work together to address the supply-and-demand imbalance in the labour market in a systematic, agile and sustainable way.”

Globally, employers experiencing the most difficulty finding the right people to fill jobs are those in Japan (80%), India (67%), Brazil (57%), Australia (54%), Taiwan (54%), Romania (53%), USA (52%), Argentina (51%), Turkey (48%), Switzerland (46%), New Zealand (44%), Singapore (44%), Bulgaria (42%), Hong Kong (42%) and Mexico (42%).

In South Africa, the survey found that 14% of employers are having difficulty filling key job vacancies. This is an improvement from 16% in 2010 and 35% in 2009. The 2009 figure represents the environment prior to the recession, where there was a massive drop in accounts for business organisations who worked optimally during the recession, realising that they can do more with less.

The hardest jobs to fill in South Africa are drivers, followed by Machinist/ Machine Operator and Accounting & finance staff. Employers in Japan (80%), India (67%) and Brazil (57%) are having the greatest difficulty finding the required talent, while those in Poland (4%), Ireland (5%) and Norway (9%) report the least difficulty.

Full results of ManpowerGroup’s 6th annual Talent Shortage Survey and Fresh Perspectives Paper ’Manufacturing’ Talent for the Human Age” can be downloaded at www.manpowergroup.com/researchcenter