All businesses have plans and projections for the next 2, 5, and 10 years, but few organizations are actively thinking about how they’ll be operating in a decade. Yes, they’ll have ideas and projections, but few are thinking about how to combat changes that may have happened by then. Namely, finding the talent (or lack thereof) to help fuel their organization’s growth.
Talent Shortage
Today in 2020, businesses are struggling to fill skilled roles. It often takes 12 weeks to find a suitable candidate, and this problem is expected to grow. While this may be good news for the skilled candidates who will be in demand and can, therefore, demand higher pay and other perks, it’s seriously troublesome for the businesses that will experience stunted growth because of it.
By 2030, the shortage of skilled candidates is estimated to cost the economy $8.5 trillion USD in unrealized revenue. This talent shortage is likely to be felt all over the world, and in places where it’s not – such as is likely in India (which is predicted to have 245 million talented candidates), they may become economic centers of the world as organizations move major operations to where the best candidates are.
Hardest-Hit Industries
There are three industries that are likely to see the biggest impact on their growth due to this shortage:
- Financial and business services
- Technology, telecommunications, and media
- Manufacturing
Financial and business services are essential in every market – in the US and UK, they account for over 30% of the economy. It’s predicted that this sector will be short 10.7 million skilled workers, equalling $1.3 trillion in unrealized revenue.
Technology is another area that will struggle, from telecommunications through to media. It’s predicted that the talent shortage will reach 4.3 million in 2030, and this is an industry that already struggles to fill roles in 2020.
Manufacturing is another industry that will face significant talent shortages, predicted to reach 7.9 million by 2030. While manufacturing was once a reliable and safe career all around the world, outsourcing to China has meant there are fewer jobs available in countries like the US and UK. Younger generations have turned to other sectors, and this will create a serious shortage in the next decade.
How To Combat the Future Talent Shortage
As an organization, there is one major answer to this talent shortage – training. The way to have the skilled workers you need for growth in 2030 is to start training them for these positions now. The way people’s careers have progressed have changed significantly in the last fifty years – it was once common to stick with a company for the duration of your career, but now we expect ambitious talent to move every 3 years or so, or as soon as the upward movement seems to slow.
But what if organizations started to take responsibility for recruiting the talent they need to combat this shortage now? By creating more workplace training programs and apprenticeships, we can create talented candidates who can fill the necessary roles in the future.
It’s time to look inward to train and promote as much as possible, creating leaders from those already in our ranks. When you train and promote from within, you’ll also create more loyalty and trust in your staff.
Generally, candidates already have the soft skills or the seeds of them that will help them become the talented workers you need. Spot these qualities, and you can upskill your employees and create a culture of loyalty that is necessary to keep employees around long-term.
