The battle for talent continues to rage across numerous industries and sectors, with three-quarters (75%) of recruitment managers believing there is a major gap between the skills their organisation has and those it needs to meet its goals.
So says a new study by Reed Talent Solutions, which has also found that half of all UK businesses find it much harder to hire talent now than they have done at any time during the past five years.
However it is not just tech and data skills which are in short supply, the research reveals that almost three-quarters (76%) of companies would be likely to consider hiring based on people’s soft skills, including good communication, leadership and management, problem solving, work ethic, time management and teamwork.
These skills are not exclusive to one particular role or industry; they are transferable and typically gained over time.
Reed Talent Solutions managing director Lee Gudgeon commented: “With businesses needing the right talent to stay strong during a tough climate, the need for recruitment strategies to be aligned with employee expectations is growing ever more important by the day.
“It’s time to close the gap between the skills in demand and the skills on hand. It’s no secret that businesses are facing a challenging time. Hiring managers need to make sure onboarding is tailored to employees to ensure current and future talent is meeting business needs.
“With technology changing the way a lot of roles work, and what businesses demand from employees, it’s not necessarily surprising that soft skills are in demand. But we’ve noticed a lot of businesses struggling to find the right talent that possess these skills.”
The research looked at what hiring managers are currently struggling with when it comes to attracting and retaining new talent. Those who have recently returned to work after a career gap or recently changed industries and those aged between 16 and 25, who are new to the employment market. It also asked those respective employees for their preferences and experiences.
It reveals stark differences between those at the start of their career and those who had returned from a career break. For instance, less than a quarter (23%) of those new to the employment market were offered soft skills training during the recruitment process, while a third (35%) of those who were hired after a temporary career break were offered soft skills training.
On top of this, the research also unveiled that 62% of companies provide generalised training, but 51% of new talent would have benefited from more support and training.
Lee added: “Different people need different levels of training, depending on where they are in their career. What we see is that a lot of businesses offer the same training process to every new employee, where in fact it would be more effective to be more mindful of how new they are to the employment market.
“While it’s proving challenging to hire during this time, businesses ought to be thinking of ways they can support their staff when they onboard them. This will be the saving grace in ensuring that employees are comfortable and well-equipped to do their role – hopefully resulting in them staying in their role for longer.
“And, by doing so, businesses might find that the talent they are looking for is already within their team.”
Related stories
Crisis deepens as UK falls to 45th globally for tech skills
Marketers scramble for jobs over fears of AI extinction
Firms warned to double down on retaining skilled staff
Data analysts in big demand as marketers suffer pay cut
Job seekers shun AI tools as they prefer humans after all
That was then, this is now…for the digital skills crisis