Industry experts warn that a global talent crunch is a serious problem amid skyrocketing unemployment rates, and industry and human resources professionals need to be careful if they want to come out ahead after the recession.
'Talent strategy should not be literally interpreted for bodies, it is skill sets,' said Owen Sullivan, chief executive for Right Management, a global career transition and organisation consulting firm. 'There is still a phenomenal amount of competition for skilled employees and this is going to get tougher.'
According to a 2009 Manpower Talent Shortage Survey, about 30 per cent of employers said they were still having difficulty filling key positions due to the lack of available talent, only 1 per cent less than a year ago, before the financial crisis hit. This comes despite public perception that the market is flooded with jobseekers.
The survey interviewed 39,000 employers from various industries across 30 countries.
The report said: 'More people may be looking for jobs, but they don't generally have the skills that employers are looking for.'
DHR International, a global search organisation specialising in C-suite recruitment, agreed, noting that its business had gone up about 13 per cent since last year and the firm had to hire more consultants to meet its growing needs.