Milwaukee, Wis. — May 25

One in three employers globally report experiencing difficulty filling jobs due to lack of available talent, the highest percentage since before the recession in 2007, a ManpowerGroup survey found.
The Talent Shortage Survey conducted by the workforce solutions company also found that 90 percent of employers cite candidate-specific factors behind the challenge of filling mission-critical roles — including a lack of necessary skills and experience, insufficient qualifications, or a lack of soft skills.

The talent market may soon have an over-supply of available workers and under-supply of qualified talent. To navigate this challenging landscape, ManpowerGroup advises employers to reconsider work models and people practices and develop a robust workforce strategy that "manufactures" the talent they need to execute their long-term business strategy.

"As the chaos and complexity of the post-recession era have irrevocably changed the way the world works, employers can no longer solely rely on a 'just in time' approach to hiring, expecting 'on-demand' talent to be available wherever and whenever they need it," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO. "It would be unthinkable for a company to plot its growth strategy without identifying a sustainable supply of raw materials, so employers must ensure they have the talent in place to support their business goals. The 'manufacturing' of talent cannot be achieved in the short-term, but it can be developed in the long-term so companies must strategize accordingly."

With 28 percent of employers worldwide reporting a lack of experience among candidates as a key barrier to filling vacancies, organizations may need to move away from traditional training and development programs and focus on experiential development by engaging employees on "stretch projects" that not only achieve the desired outcomes of the business, but also is tailored to the employee to help them achieve their full potential and help build the skills that are most valuable to the organization.

The hardest jobs to fill globally are technicians, sales representatives and skilled trades workers, according to ManpowerGroup's survey of almost 40,000 employers across 39 countries and territories. These are the same jobs that employers have reported having difficulty filling for the past four years, underlining the need to re-evaluate how they are recruiting for these positions.