The 12th edition of the ManpowerGroup’s Talent Shortage Report is loud and clear. The global research says that organizations all over the world are struggling to find the right talent and that the global talent shortage has reached at an all-time high. Ever since the report’s first version in 2006, the findings have never been this bleak. As a part of the 2018 Talent Shortage Report, ManpowerGroup surveyed 39,195 employers in 43 countries and territories to understand the challenges they face in filling vacant roles.

The following are the findings of the survey:

• India is one of the top 10 most-adversely impacted markets as 56% of the employers face challenges in finding suitable talent to fill vacant positions
• Globally, 45% of all the employers surveyed are struggling to scout for the right talent
• The worst-impacted countries are Japan (89% employers face difficulty in filling vacant positions), Romania (81%) and Taiwan (78%)
  
• The biggest factors that result in talent shortages include: lack of applicants (29%), lack of experience (20%), and applicants lacking required hard skills (19%)
  
• More than half the employers stated that written and verbal communication skills are the most valued soft skills, followed by collaboration and problem-solving
• The top roles which are proving to be the hardest to fill are: skilled roles (like electrician, welders, mechanics), sales representatives, engineers, drivers, technicians, IT, accounting and finance, professionals, office support, and manufacturing
  
• Large companies with over 250 employees face twice as much difficulty in filling vacant positions as compared to micro organizations with less than 10 employees
• Over half the organizations with 50-249 employees are struggling to attract the right talent
• Five of the top ten countries facing a talent shortage, namely, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India, are in the Asia-Pacific region

Here is how other countries fared. The figures denote the % of employers surveyed facing a challenge in finding the right talent:

Countries facing the most difficulty in finding the right talent:

• Hong Kong (76%)
• Bulgaria (68%)
• Turkey (66%)
• Greece (61%)
• Singapore (56%)
• Slovakia (54%)
• Argentina (52%)

Countries facing above average difficulty in finding the right talent:

• Poland (51%)
• Hungary (51%)
• Germany (51%)
• Mexico (50%)
• Israel (49%)
• Portugal (46%)
• USA (46%)
• Austria (46%)
• Finland (45%)

Countries facing below average difficulty in finding the right talent:

• New Zealand (44%)
• Peru (43%)
• Sweden (42%)
• Colombia (42%)
• Canada (41%)
• Slovenia (40%)
• Guatemala (38%)
• Italy (37%)
• Czech Republic (36%)
• Panama (35%)
• Costa Rica (35%)
• Belgium (35%)
• Brazil (34%)
• Australia (34%)

Countries facing the least difficulty in finding the right talent:

• Switzerland (33%)
• South Africa (32%)
• France (29%)
• Norway (25%)
• Spain (24%)
• The Netherlands (24%)
• UK (19%)
• Ireland (18%)
• China (13%)

Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup Jonas Prising says, "With record talent shortages around the world, it's no longer a question of simply finding talent; we need to build it. New assessments, big data, and predictive performance mean employers have the best tools to identify adjacent skills, help people shift into emerging roles and create clear career paths. We know talent shortages are not going to fix themselves. Organizations need to accelerate efforts to upskill and reskill employees for the new world of work so companies succeed and people have employment security for the long term." 

The report ends with a ‘Build, Buy, Borrow, and Bridge’ advice for leaders and employers to be able to deftly face the talent challenges of today. The report aptly concludes that the search for the right talent is only going to get tougher as business processes and digital roles become more digitized. As businesses and leaders step into an uncertain future, a workforce that is adequately balanced in technical and soft skills will be of critical importance.

Sources:

ManpowerGroup 2018 Talent Shortage Survey 
ManpowerGroup Press Release