Best blogs of February 2018

Our Best Blogs of February post includes stories on how the American skills gap could seriously impact the economy, training staff to this very skills gaps, and how to fix a broken recruiting process. That’s a lot of great stuff to read while waiting for the winter weather to break!

Will the economy fall into the skills gap?

Employers are already dealing with a massive skills gap in the US labor market. While this reality is likely affecting the economy already, the skills gap could serious stifle economic growth and have dire impacts for already-struggling communities.

Above all else, the US labor market is in dire need of tech talent. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy will need up to 100,000 new IT professionals annually over the next decade. At the moment, around 60,000 of these employees go into the workforce annually.

Demographics is only expected to make this problem worse, as a large segment of the population – Baby Boomers – passes into retirement in the coming decade. Approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age each day, according to the Pew Research Center. Many of these men and women will leave behind a tech-based job that will then be difficult to fill.

Read the whole story here.

Training staff to bridge the skills gap

With the economy surging, companies are likely going to invest more in cutting-edge technology. These companies need skilled workers in order to take full advantage of this technology, and given the current IT skills gap in the labor market, should consider training their existing staff.

According to a new report from Accenture, companies should take a three-step process to move forward in the digital age: “reimagining work”, “pivoting the workforce”, and “scaling up new skilling”.

Reimagining work calls for a shift from workforce planning to work planning. Pivoting the workforce involves shifting resources made available by automation and technology to new areas with growth potential. Finally, businesses need to help employees acquire new skills that will empower them and allow the company to grow.

Essentially, technological innovation is forcing companies to innovate when it comes to training and human resources.

Read the whole story here.

Is your recruitment process in need of fixing? 

According to the research firm Work Institute, 34 percent of employees quit a job within one year of getting hired. Given the fact that turnover costs companies millions of dollars each year, it’s safe to say that recruitment processes at many companies need fixing.

One big problem in many hiring processes is a lack of specificity. For instance, hiring personnel without in-depth IT knowledge may not know that difference between Java and Javascript. Also, hiring personnel often use software tools to automatically scan submitted resumes for keyword. If inexact keywords are being used, it’s going to result in an ineffective screening process.

Many companies currently don’t put enough focus on diversity in their recruitment process. Research shows that diverse organizations tend to have higher employee morale and greater productivity.

Read the full story here.