With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering around 8 percent and millions of people desperately looking for jobs, why are many employers claiming they can\u2019t fill their vacant positions?<\/p>\n
The answer: A skills gap that threatens the sustainability of businesses around the world. And while a big part of the skills gap is a shortage of people skilled in the STEM (science, technology, education, and math) industries, there also is a gap in soft skills such as communication and advanced leadership skills. (See sidebar below for skills gap statistics.)<\/p>\n
Ed Gordon, author of \u201cWinning the Global Talent Showdown\u201d and the upcoming \u201cFuture Jobs: Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis,\u201d believes the education to employment to talent creation system\u2014from first grade through college through career training\u2014needs to be revamped. \u201cIt\u2019s not a skills problem; it\u2019s a talent issue,\u201d he asserts. \u201cPeople don\u2019t have the liberal arts and thinking skills and specific career training they need in today\u2019s technologically advancing world. We need the skills to keep this very complex technology working. This includes medical technology, aerospace, automotive, etc. We need people to build airplanes, keep the lights on at the Super Bowl, fix high-tech cars and plumbing systems, and teach kids writing skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordon predicts if the structure doesn\u2019t change, there will be 14 million to 25 million vacant jobs by 2020 that we won\u2019t be able to fill. \u201cYou can have all the latest technology you want,\u201d he notes, \u201cbut if you don\u2019t have the talent behind it, your business is not sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is causing these skills gaps? What can\u2014and should\u2014employers and their Training departments, employees, and the education system be doing differently? This first article in a five-part series will address these questions. Subsequent articles will explore how corporate partnerships with colleges and universities can help bridge the divide (May\/June), how to motivate employees to take advantage of skills gap training and eliminate any sense of promotion entitlement (July\/August), how technology can help (September\/October), and additional potential solutions and strategies for success (November\/December).<\/p>\n
Cause and Effect<\/strong><\/p>\n At its core, the skills gap is an education issue, believes Adam Wiedmer, Sourcing director, Seven Step RPO, a professional services corporation providing recruitment outsourcing solutions. \u201cThere is a mismatch between skills being taught in the U.S. and the labor pressure in the market. Psychology, history, and performing arts account for 22 percent of degrees earned in the U.S., but the corresponding professions don\u2019t appear in any top rankings for labor demand,\u201d he says. \u201cOf the top majors granted in the U.S., only 5 percent fall within the high-demand areas of engineering and technology. Compare that number to India, where the number of technical enrollment is five times that amount.\u201d As a result, Wiedmer notes, the U.S. constantly needs to look internationally to feed the increasing demand for a highly skilled IT workforce.<\/p>\n Jim Spohrer, director of IBM University Programs, adds that the impact of emerging technology quickly is outpacing expertise. For example, he says, in five short years, smart phones have become ingrained in business and society, revolutionizing the way people communicate and transforming consumer habits and the way companies operate. \u201cSTEM skills need to play a bigger role in our curriculum at all grade levels, and professionals must make continuing education opportunities a priority to stay informed on the latest technical advances,\u201d he believes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Melanie Holmes, vice president, World of Work Solutions, ManpowerGroup, identifies several other underlying causes of this skills mismatch, including:<\/p>\n Baby Boomers are retiring in unprecedented numbers.<\/strong> The generations that followed the baby boom were smaller\u2014so the sheer number of workers available is smaller, and those remaining may not have sufficient literacy or communications skills.<\/p>\n Employers tell us that they are seeking candidates with experience. <\/strong>This creates two issues. First, technology and the world of work change so rapidly that it is difficult to find employees with experience in emerging technologies and work practices. Second, if educational institutions, employers, and individuals aren\u2019t keeping up with these changes, the workforce will be left behind.<\/p>\n Finally, there may be \u201cinfrastructure\u201d issues contributing to the mismatch. <\/strong>Many potential employees struggle with issues such as transportation and affordable child care. Others might not live where the jobs are and can\u2019t afford to relocate.<\/p>\n In 2012, global staffing company Aquent commissioned a survey of 580 marketing, creative, and digital hiring managers to uncover flexible workforce trends in their departments. The survey indicated that nearly 30 percent\u00a0of hiring managers look to external (contract\/ temporary) resources when their team doesn\u2019t have the\u00a0specific technical skills or knowledge needed to complete a project. What\u2019s interesting about this, says Katja Wald, director of Global Marketing, Aquent, \u201cis that because Aquent staffs these positions with contractors, we know there are people who can fill those gaps, but many times they prefer to work as contractors. They are part of a growing group of highly skilled professionals who prefer the flexibility and variation (of work) that a contract provides. As a result, we often suggest companies adjust their expectations a bit and consider looking for candidates who have those highly specialized skills but prefer a temporary job. Additionally, we\u2019ve seen contract-to-hire become a popular option so that both employer and employee can evaluate each other and see if it\u2019s the right skills match.\u201d<\/p>\n In late fourth quarter 2012, Aquent canvassed its clients asking them for the soft skills they thought were most important. Almost overwhelmingly, clients said they wanted to see candidates with organizational, project management, and communication skills.<\/p>\n This holds true when it comes to leadership competencies, says Ellen Van Velsor, senior fellow in Research & Innovation, Center for Creative Leadership, who believes educational curriculum currently is not well aligned with the skills businesses need. \u201cWhile undergraduate business administration and MBA programs provide students with a variety of technical skills, leadership\u00a0and other soft skills are virtually absent in many programs,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n A recent survey of senior executives done by the Center for Creative Leadership showed that the five most important leadership competencies desired in people entering the workforce today are communication skills, self-motivation, learning agility, self-awareness, and adaptability. \u201cWhether these are the qualities companies actually are hiring for is an important question, but these are certainly not all qualities that are the core focus of typical high school or college curricula,\u201d she says. \u201cWhile the managers we surveyed are impressed with the incoming generation\u2019s technology savvy, they see younger workers as overly dependent on technology for communication and less skilled or willing to communicate face to face.\u201d<\/p>\n Last but not least, Van Velsor says, is the fact that young people today may not be receiving the help they need in terms of training, mentoring, or coaching to become the leaders needed for tomorrow.<\/p>\n What Employers and Training Can Do<\/strong><\/p>\n Tracy McCarthy, Chief Human Resource Officer of SilkRoad, a provider of cloud-based social talent management software, recommends that employers challenge their talent acquisition strategy.\u00a0\u201cIf you are having trouble filling jobs, is it because your expectations of the job applicant\u2019s skills and experience are too high or specific? Challenge your thinking about the level of experience and skills you are demanding of applicants and look for a balance of specific technical skills and critical success skills, work attitudes, and self-management skills.\u201d<\/p>\n SCC Soft Computer hires individuals possessing domain expertise and trains them from the ground up, according to Chief Learning Officer Don Keller. \u201cWe hire medical technologists for a variety of key positions (e.g., product specialist, business analyst, and technical support specialist) and rely on the subject matter expertise of these professionals. We transition their skills sets from medical technology to information technology.\u201d<\/p>\n For the technical support team, SCC created levels for the technical competencies associated with various jobs in that department. \u201cWe labeled the competencies as basic, intermediate, advanced, and expert, and then we mapped these to the jobs,\u201d Keller explains. \u201cManagers review the competencies with their direct reports and set a development plan for any technical deficiencies. We take an additional step and link the competency model to the career path, so employees know where they need to be technically in order to be in line for a promotion.\u201d<\/p>\n No matter what the skills, Holmes believes one of the first investments a company should make is to align HR and the workforce strategy to the business strategy. \u201cBased on the business strategy, HR must forecast the skills that will be necessary in the near term and long-term future,\u201d she explains. \u201cThen, an assessment of the current workforce should be done\u2014including current skills, the age of the current workforce to predict retirements, etc. Finally, a gap analysis will determine what steps should be taken to ensure the workforce that is required for the future.\u201d This should answer questions such as:<\/p>\n The second vital investment a company must make is in training, Holmes says. \u201cBoth new employees and incumbent workers should be offered the training they need to keep their skills relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n New hires should be considered based on their attitudes and their aptitude for the position, Holmes says. \u201cThen, a training investment should be made to get their skills in line with the requirements of the position. And incumbent employees should be given the opportunity to upgrade their skills to qualify for new assignments or promotions.\u201d This does two things, Holmes says: It provides development opportunities to help increase employee engagement and it opens up entry-level positions for new hires.<\/p>\n McCarthy encourages organizations to build their farm team, utilizing a multitier approach and hiring some people right out of college\/high school, those early to mid-career, and those in later career. \u201cThis way, you can have a supply of talent ready to move into new roles as others exit,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n An effective Training department also should partner with the other departments in the organization so they are kept up to date on current needs as jobs change, Keller believes. \u201cAt SCC, we try to stay a step ahead of the changes by continuously communicating with the departments and by suggesting ways to improve skills proactively. All too often, organizations wait until there is some kind of a crisis and then try to improve skills.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the initiatives SCC Educational Services undertook was to collaborate with the Client Services\/Technical Support department to update the existing competency model to include levels and to map technical skills to actual jobs. \u201cAt the same time, we created a training and development map, and revised the 90-day onboarding training plan,\u201d Keller says. \u201cWe color-coded the competency model to help managers decide which competencies need to be evaluated on the 90-day review for new hires. A representative from Client Services\/Technical Support and the training Organizational Development (OD) specialist assigned to this project pulled all of the managers into a training session and gave them the tools to better assess new hires.\u201d During the same timeframe, the OD specialist held roundtables with the managers to come up with key behavioral interview questions based on the \u201cmust-have\u201d competencies. \u201cWe then developed a structured interview guide so the managers are all asking the same set of questions during the initial interviews.\u201d<\/p>\n Developing strong internship, or co-op, programs can help develop skills early on in the hiring process,\u201d McCarthy adds.\u00a0Another proactive strategy is to partner with local colleges and high schools to start \u201crecruiting\u201d future employees and build your employer brand.\u00a0\u201cGive back to the local schools and communities with time to bring career relevance to the classroom,\u201d McCarthy says.<\/p>\n IBM, for example, offers free training and educational resources for IT professionals, educators, and students through IBM developerWorks\u2014a Web-based technical resource and professional network for IT practitioners, students, and university faculty worldwide. Four million developers use developerWorks each month, with language support in English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish, according to Spohrer. Resources offered on developerWorks are free, available to the public, and regularly updated with the newest technology trends. \u201cWe just expanded the site to include new materials around cyber security, mobile application development, and smarter commerce tools to help retailers improve their business,\u201d Spohrer says.<\/p>\n This model likewise can be used for developing leaders, says Joel Wright, Innovation associate, Center for Creative Leadership. \u201cEmployers can take a proactive stance to develop the future leadership pipeline by partnering with educational institutions or community youth organizations to help them resource leadership opportunities. While some resources might And it\u2019s a two-way street: Depending on how the program is designed and delivered, Wright says, \u201cthe mentors\/coaches\/facilitators often learn and grow their own leadership skills while developing the leadership skills of those they are working with. This can be a real rich win-win.\u201d<\/p>\n Organizations also should look into state-funded training programs. Training funds awarded to SCC under the State of Florida Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) Stimulus Grant have provided funding for 75 percent of the training cost for approved leadership development courses, according to Keller. As a result, managers have been able to take leadership courses at St. Petersburg College.<\/p>\n CCL\u2019s Van Velsor adds that work should be done to make organizational cultures more tolerant and open to the skills and perspectives the younger generation brings, while at the same time creating an environment where their development needs can be addressed before they are moved into management or leadership. Likewise, she says, \u201cyounger people can coach older generations on technology, multiculturalism and tolerance, risk taking and creativity, and other strengths the younger generation is recognized as having, while the more senior leaders can mentor younger employees to help them develop the political skills, ability to communicate face to face, decision-making and strategic skills, and other capabilities younger people are seen as lacking as they start out.\u201d<\/p>\n SCC employs individuals from four distinct generations and a variety of cultural backgrounds, so diversity training\u2014with a focus on effective communication and collaboration\u2014continues to be an important element in helping employees recognize and embrace the differences across generations and cultures, CLO Keller says. \u201cDiversity training and awareness remain key components in helping SCC staff members from different generations work together on blended teams and capitalize on the strengths of each team member. We also offer leader-led courses in Managing Across Generations (for managers) and Generations at Work (general employee population).\u201d<\/p>\n Last but not least, SilkRoad\u2019s McCarthy says, \u201conce you\u2019ve committed to growing your talent, by all means, don\u2019t forget to focus on keeping them. Setting up a culture where people want to stay will help reduce the skills gap by reducing turnover of those key people.\u201d<\/p>\n What Employees Can Do<\/strong><\/p>\n While much of the skills gap solution burden may lie with employers, employees are not off the hook. McCarthy offers four key pieces of advice for employees:<\/p>\n Adds CCL\u2019s Van Velsor, \u201cNot all employees take the perspective of owning their own work, so that is a change that would benefit, not only the employees themselves, but also their organizations. Taking small steps to move away from a more dependent view of leadership (waiting for those above you to set priorities or tell you what to do), and moving more toward seeing yourself as the person in charge of your job, in coordination with others on your team and your organization\u2019s goals, would be a beneficial change for many employees.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking it a step further, Van Velsor says, employees should think about how to create more interdependence between the work they do and the teams they are on, and the work of other individuals, teams, and groups in their organization. \u201cOf course, on an individual level, it is important to seek feedback on one\u2019s performance often, get coaching (formal or informal) on areas where skills need to develop, and do all one can to learn outside of one\u2019s current skill set and knowledge base.\u201d<\/p>\n CCL\u2019s Wright advocates seeking opportunities outside your organization by serving on a local board, directing a community project or, exploring other developmental opportunities.<\/p>\n At SCC Soft Computer, employees need to take an active role in their own personal and professional development to ensure that their skills remain relevant and up to date, Keller says. \u201cIn most organizations, the performance review largely is skewed toward the manager\u2019s input, so for technical, leadership, and soft skills, it\u2019s important that employees self-evaluate annually.\u201d<\/p>\n SCC gives employees the tools necessary to enable them to take an active role in their own professional development. This has resulted in empowered staff members who take ownership of their personal development plans. By giving employees a copy of their competency model to use during the self-evaluation, Keller says, the employee can identify his or her own areas of improvement. \u201cBecause adults are more likely to change if they are aware of a need to change, our employees write their own action plans for self-identified areas of improvement, and they must submit that input to their manager two weeks prior to the scheduled evaluation,\u201d he explains. If there are areas of agreement, the manager notes that and can give input to the action plan if it\u2019s not sufficient in the manager\u2019s eyes to facilitate real change.<\/p>\n Education\/Social Systems<\/strong><\/p>\n The speed of business is changing faster than ever and our education and social systems are not keeping pace, McCarthy believes. \u201cA focus on communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking is lacking in our current education system, but these are required skills for successful employment.\u201d McCarthy\u2019s note to educators: Teach these skills, model them, expect them!<\/p>\n McCarthy says the lack of basic skills such as math, science, reading, and writing is a deal breaker.\u00a0\u201cEmployers don\u2019t have the capacity to teach these in the workplace; it is up to the education system and\u00a0parents to ensure each person has these skills.\u201d<\/p>\n Advanced skills, such computer or IT skills, are in high demand now, and that will not change in the future\u2014it will only become more critical. That said, the number of students focusing on these areas as a course of study is declining. \u201cWe need to figure out why,\u201d McCarthy says. \u201cHow do we encourage the right students to pursue technical tracks so we have the needed skills in work? This is a problem best solved by an integrated approach between education and business.\u201d<\/p>\n Author Gordon agrees. \u201cIs the labor market out of sync with what parents want their kids to do or what the schools prepare kids to do?\u201d he asks. \u201cThe system needs to be rebuilt at the regional level. We need to restructure the education to employment to talent creation system.\u201d<\/p>\n Gordon points to \u201cRegional Talent Innovation Networks\u201d or RETAINs as a solution. Currently, there are 1,000 of these regional public\/private partnerships, which Gordon says are bipartisan, not political or ideological. \u201cWe have to rebuild the pipeline that connects the people to the job market,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Some examples:<\/p>\n Ultimately, Gordon says, \u201cwe are in a jobs revolution. The business community is still tied to short-term business results, but we need to build a knowledge structure. We need a system overhaul, not tweaks to the current system. If we don\u2019t address this talent shortage, we will see deterioration in products and product shortages.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite this dire prediction, Gordon remains optimistic. \u201cI believe the solution will be from the bottom up, not from the government,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd one key is getting companies to capitalize training\/talent development like they do equipment and facilities. Don\u2019t outsource training and HR\u2014get it on the balance sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n Stay tuned for Part 2 of the series in the May\/June 2013 issue, which will explore the role colleges and universities can play in helping to bridge the skills gaps.<\/p>\n Bridging the Skills Gap By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n There is no shortage of research proving the existence of skills gaps. But it may be surprising to see how big these gaps are. Some highlights from recent research:<\/p>\n Strategic Components<\/strong><\/p>\n What type of timeline and investment would an organization be looking at in creating a strategy to eliminate skills gaps, and leadership skills gaps in particular? Ellen Van Velsor, senior fellow in Research & Innovation, Center for Creative Leadership, says the timeline and investment would depend on the nature of the strategy and the needs addressed by the plan. \u201cThere is no single\/simple answer,\u201d she says. She points to some necessary components of the strategy, including:<\/p>\n Don Keller, CLO, SCC Soft Computer, adds a few more tips:<\/p>\n Are You Tolerating Leadership Mediocrity?<\/strong> When it comes to employee skill gaps, companies typically don\u2019t tolerate technical incompetence\u2014at any level. That\u2019s why I am always baffled that so many companies tolerate leadership incompetence\u2014at every level.<\/p>\n Leader quality is a primary driver of strategy execution and sustainable growth. In a 2011 Bersin & Associates study, more than half of organizations reported their business was being held back by a lack of leadership talent. The study also revealed that companies with the highest quality leaders were 13 times more likely to outperform their competition in key bottom-line metrics such as financial performance, quality of products and services, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n What causes leadership mediocrity and, more importantly, why do companies put up with it?<\/p>\n The causes are two-fold: poor selection and lack of development. At DDI we have a saying: \u201cYou can\u2019t develop a hiring mistake,\u201d and this is especially true about leaders. Yet companies\u2014through their HR departments\u2014continue to allow hiring managers to select leaders based mostly on technical skill and virtually ignore leadership ability. Why? Well, perhaps these hiring managers feel it\u2019s easier for leaders to learn the \u201csoft skills\u201d needed to communicate and build strong relationships, but our experience and research show that soft skills are difficult to develop. Our study of front-line leaders found that they regularly overestimate their leadership skills and 89 percent have at least one blind spot (a development need they don\u2019t realize they have) in critical leadership competencies. They are mediocre and they don\u2019t know it, but their direct reports do.<\/p>\n One organization that places a premium on identifying and developing leaders who avoid the mediocrity trap is Quintiles, a provider of biopharmaceutical services with more than 27,000 professionals working in more than 80 countries. Quintiles has helped develop or commercialize all of the top 50 best-selling drugs on the market.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything we do revolves around what our people can bring to the table from their knowledge, expertise, consistency of service delivery, and innovation,\u201d says Tim Toterhi, senior director, Global Talent, Development & Engagement. \u201cSo getting the right people to lead those experts is tremendously important for us.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of its leadership selection process, Quintiles uses an online assessment tool that targets the competencies leaders need in order to be effective. In addition to enabling better hiring decisions, the data gathered from the assessment serves to identify the areas where the leader needs development. \u201cIt\u2019s something we can use for a broader population to indicate not only how people might fit into a role, but also how we would continue their development once selected,\u201d Toterhi explains.<\/p>\n In addition to gathering and using assessment data to avoid leadership mediocrity, as Quintiles does, it\u2019s also important to provide new leaders with comprehensive training in core leadership skills. Then, on an ongoing basis, it\u2019s critical to provide them with feedback on their soft skills and hold them accountable for improving.<\/p>\n No organization should settle for mediocre leaders. By being smarter about how we hire, develop, and support them, there\u2019s no reason mediocre leaders can\u2019t become a thing of the past.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Employers want certain skills. Employees don\u2019t have them. Why? And what can organizations and Training, employees, and the educational system do to eliminate the disconnect?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[16],"class_list":{"0":"post-9900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-magazine","7":"tag-feature","8":"magazine_issues-march-2013"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nbe monetary, others might involve staff acting as mentors, coaches, or facilitators during the youth leadership programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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\nBy Jim Concelman, VP, Leadership Development – Leadership Solutions Group, Development Dimensions International<\/p>\n