US, other large economies to face continued shortage of skilled workers: Study

US, other large economies to face continued shortage of skilled workers: Study

The US and other large economies continue to face a shortage of skilled workers, engineers and other in-demand employees, according to an annual study on talent shortages.

The study, by staffing services giant ManpowerGroup, found that 34 per cent of employers around the world found it difficult filling jobs due to lack of available talent with the percentage unchanged from 2011 but up over the previous three years.

However, according to most of the employers,  56 per cent unfilled jobs were likely to have little or no impact on customers and investors. The percentage was up from 36 per cent a year ago.

Talent shortages continue even with high unemployment in many economies, especially among young people. Employers,  however, are more comfortable conducting business in an environment of talent shortages and remain reluctant to add workers while memories of recession continue to be fresh, according to Manpower.

According to Manpower chief executive, Jeff Joerres, leaving positions unfilled might be a short-term fix, but it was a short-sighted and unsustainable approach to addressing talent shortages.

Among the reasons for not filling jobs are a lack of available applicants; too few hard skills, including ability to speak a foreign language among those who do apply; and a lack of experience. Employers also complained about deficiencies in applicants' soft skills, such as showing too little enthusiasm though these were fewer.

The survey covered 40,000 employers in 41 countries and territories.

Skilled trade workers have topped the most in-demand list for four of the past five years, as educational systems around the world are emphasising four-year university education, vocational and technical programmes continue to decline.

With fewer young people taking up technical educations and more older skilled workers retiring, such shortages would likely persist, according to the study.

Other jobs that would be expected to be in demand in 2012 are sales representatives, technicians, drivers, labourers and information technology staff. Accounting and finance workers, chefs and managers make up the rest of the top 10.

Employers in Japan were the most likely to report problems finding staff, followed by those in Brazil, Bulgaria, Australia and the US, where 49 per cent report difficulty, down from 52 per cent last year.

According to the over 1,300 US employers surveyed, the positions that were most difficult to fill included skilled trades, engineers and information technology staff, all of which had appeared on the US list several times since the survey began in 2006.

The survey also highlighted the most common reasons employers said they were having trouble filling jobs, included lack of available applicants, applicants looking for more pay and lack of experience.

The top 10 most difficult jobs to fill in the US are:

1. Skilled trades
2. Engineers
3. IT staff
4. Sales representatives
5. Accounting and finance staff
6. Drivers
7. Mechanics
8. Nurses
9. Machinists/machine operators
10. Teachers

According to the firm, too many employers were becoming complacent about the talent shortage and ultimately they would struggle to realise their business objectives.

(Also see: Talent crunch hurting 67% of Indian employers: survey)