Breathe
By Monica Flores
The talent shortage is a global challenge that is much talked about, but one that we are not doing enough to address.
- - - - - - - -
Globally, 75% of employers have difficulty filling vacant positions, 68% in Mexico.
For any organization, it is crucial to have the people to help it achieve its business objectives; if it does not have them, it loses its competitive capacity.
We tend to think that it happens in industries that require advanced or highly specialized technical knowledge and skills, but it doesn't. It happens in any country, industry, type of organization and size of company. It happens in any country, industry, type of organization and size of company.
Paradoxically, according to the ILO (International Labor Organization), in 2024 the employment deficit (which measures the number of people out of work but willing to work) will be around 402 million people in the world. (1)
Many people looking for jobs, and many companies unable to fill their vacancies.
What is happening?
The phenomenon is multifactorial, however, there are some trends.
The skills gap: the difference between the skills that individuals have and the skills that companies need has been growing.
According to the World Economic Forum, 50% of all individuals will need to reskill by 2025 and it defines these as the skills of the future (I would argue that they are also the skills of the present):
- Analytical thinking and innovation
- Active learning and learning strategies
- Complex problem solving
- Critical thinking and analysis
- Creativity, originality and initiative
- Leadership and social influence
- Use, monitoring and control of technology
- Technology design and programming
- Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility
- Reasoning, problem solving and ideation
The underlying issue is that the requirements of the labor market and what is being taught in schools are far apart and are not keeping pace.
There is thus a mismatch between academic training and the needs of the world of work.
In a changing, uncertain world and with a technological revolution that challenges us more and more, educational systems and the skills acquired can become obsolete in 2 or 3 years. The life expectancy of knowledge and skills is getting shorter and shorter.
Just to mention one fact: according to the International Monetary Fund, almost 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, 60% in the most advanced economies (2).
What to do?
There are several ways to combat the talent shortage, here are a few:
- Micro-credentials or educational certifications in specific knowledge or skills that are obtained in short periods of time and allow individuals to adjust quickly.
- Early professional internships that provide young people with work experience long before they complete their educational plan.
- Business-academia alliances to close the gap between educational plans and labor market demand.
- Willingness of the individual to continue learning
It is also crucial to maintain an ongoing program for: improving/upgrading existing skills (upskilling), developing different or entirely new skills (reskilling) and acquiring skills for the needs of the future (preskilling).
This is not only a company-government-academia formula, individuals must also do our part: today, the ability to learn to learn (learnability) and lifelong learning or the personal disposition to acquire skills throughout our professional lives are highly valued.
Because it is important what we know today, but it is more important what we are able to learn?
https://news.un.org/es/story/2024/05/1530131
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
Comments ()