[November 10, 2014] |
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Nearly Three-Quarters of U.S. Companies Expect Their Demand for Middle-Skills Jobs to Increase, Accenture Research Shows
NEW YORK --(Business Wire)--
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. companies (73 percent) expect an increase
in their demand for "middle-skills" jobs - that generally require more
than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree - over the
next few years. At the same time, more than half (56 percent) of those
surveyed are struggling to find people with the qualifications to fill
existing middle-skills vacancies, according to new research from
Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE:ACN).
This lack of talent is having a direct impact on corporate performance:
almost seven in 10 (69 percent) of respondents indicated that the
middle-skills shortage regularly affects their performance and more than
one-third (34 percent) believe that the dearth of middle-skills workers
has significantly undermined their productivity. The Accenture research
also identified the hardest-hit sectors and consistently hard-to-fill
positions. (See full infographics: Closing
of the Middle-Skills Gap and U.S.
Companies Expect Demand for Middle-Skills Jobs to Increase.)
The survey of more than 800 human resources executives is being released
in advance of an upcoming report by Accenture, Burning Glass
Technologies and Harvard Business School (HBS) that examines the impact
of the middle-skills gap on U.S. competitiveness and provides targeted
solutions for employers, educators and policymakers to improve their
talent pipeline for middle-skills positions.
"The majority of U.S. employers across many business sectors are having
great difficulty filling middle-skills positions, despite the fact that
unemployment and under-employment remain a challenge for many
Americans," said David
Smith, senior managing director Accenture Strategy, Tlent &
Organization. "Our research provides employers with tangible and
practical advice about how to address the underlying issues that
contribute to the skills gap and how to improve their processes to
source, develop, deploy and retain middle-skills talent."
According to the HR survey, inadequate training and lack of experience
were seen as the leading impediments to filling middle-skills positions:
54 percent of respondents said "trained talent is difficult to find" and
50 percent said "sufficient experience is not easy to find." Other major
contributors to the middle-skills gap include insufficient training and
upskilling opportunities for current or prospective employees. Just two
in 10 respondents (22 percent), including those who said their company
is having trouble filling job vacancies, said they always are willing to
consider hiring a new employee who requires additional training.
"There are two key ways to cultivate talent: you can tap the power of an
organization's existing workforce and build those skills from within, or
you can develop new talent externally through a network of trusted
partners," Smith said.
Four imperatives to solve the middle-skills gap
Accenture recommends employers consider the following four steps as a
way to improve their talent sourcing, development, deployment and
retention cycle:
1. Map future talent needs. Eight in 10 executives surveyed (80
percent) agree on the need to be proactive about building a talent
pipeline for middle-skills jobs. As a first step, companies must improve
forecasting and planning to better understand which positions and skills
they need most.
2. Build the talent pipeline. Just over half the executives
surveyed said their company partners with community colleges (56
percent) or technical schools (55 percent). Companies have a valuable
opportunity to work with these institutions to develop curricula that
build the required skills and experience.
3. Develop talent pool relationships. Community-based
organizations are another often underutilized partner, with fewer than
half of the businesses represented by the survey (45 percent) forging
relationships with these groups. The business community must work with a
vast network of partners, including education institutions and community
organizations, to establish themselves as "employers of choice" with
potential middle-skills job seekers.
4. Reinvigorate talent development. Only 41 percent of the
respondents said their companies offer internships or apprenticeships,
even though 80 percent agree that these programs are effective in
building needed skills. Companies must provide current and prospective
employees with access to a variety of internships, apprenticeships,
ongoing training programs and upskilling opportunities to create a clear
career path for middle-skills employees.
Methodology
The Accenture Middle Skills Survey was conducted in 2014 with more than
800 U.S. human resources (HR) executives across 18 industries. The
survey aimed to identify and understand issues that HR leaders face in
hiring workers, developing skills, and ensuring a sufficient supply of
talent to meet the middle-skills job needs. Two-thirds of respondents
were HR directors; the remaining third were senior vice presidents of HR
and senior managers. Half of the participating companies have annual
revenue more than $1 billion, and one-quarter have more than 10,000
employees. The margin of error for the survey was 3.4 percent.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with more than 305,000 people serving clients in
more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience,
comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions,
and extensive research on the world's most successful companies,
Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance
businesses and governments. Through its Skills
to Succeed corporate citizenship initiative, Accenture is
committed to equipping 700,000 people around the world by 2015 with the
skills to get a job or build a business. The company generated net
revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its
home page is www.accenture.com.
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