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In 2012, a record number of people around the globe are unemployed—200 million, by some estimates. Yet as much as 34 percent of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling open positions. The vast majority (73 percent) cite lack of experience, skills or knowledge as the primary obstacle to recruiting needed talent.
The situation is even worse when it comes to the skills gaps within an organization’s existing workforce, where less than half of workers believe they have the skills necessary to do their jobs optimally.
Diego De León, managing director responsible for learning and collaboration offerings and capabilities in Accenture Talent & Organization, and the Talent & Organization group in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America; and Breck Marshall, executive director responsible for learning and collaboration offerings and capabilities in North America, and the Talent & Organization group in the Health & Public Service industry, look behind the data contained in the US Skills Gap Survey to understand the dynamics of this state of affairs. Their recent report, “Solving the Skills Paradox: Seven Ways to Close Your Critical Skills Gaps” proposes ways in which organizations can overcome this critical challenge.
In this podcast, De León and Marshall argue that the skills paradox is being driven by the existence of global supply chains, closed labor markets and language barriers. They identify the types of companies that might be experiencing it more acutely, and what skills are in short supply. They then go on to discuss the concrete, practical steps that organizations can take to close their skills gaps.