Not since the digital revolution in the early ’90s has technology placed such a comprehensive burden on business, employees and individuals to reinvent their business plans, services and products, and themselves to keep pace with the changing marketplace. — Simon Mainwaring
There is so much uncertainty these days when it comes to job hunting, we face a great catch-22. On one side, there are people searching for jobs; and on the other side, companies cannot find the right candidates with the right skills.
A report that was issued by Manpower in 2015, globally, 38% of employers are struggling to fill jobs. Indeed there is an abundance of people applying for the same jobs, the ones with shortages are unattractive to young people.
Technology has revolutionized a lot, procedures have been modified, new skills and abilities are required. Some positions have emerged as the most demanded in the market now; even when they didn’t exist just a few years ago.
Having degrees, certificates, hard skills or technical knowledge is no longer enough to ensure success. Soft skills and STEM skills are needed. That is why investments in education, training, re-training, and development are essential.
Indeed we need our governmental bodies to drive competitiveness and productivity, it an absolute must that companies, schools, public organizations and individuals work together for their mutual benefits.
Our educational institutions must reach a consensus dialogue with the corporate businesses to adapt their learning programs to the labor market’s needs. A McKinsey survey, stated that in average, 70% of educational institutions believe their newly graduates are adequately prepared for their first job, compared with 41% of employers of think the same about recently graduated professionals. Notice that disparity between views. Our learning institutions aren’t focused upon equipping their students with the skills required such as creative thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and leadership, to name a few.
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We need to encourage our young ones to study the in-demand professions like technical careers and engineering.
Research by Manpower Group more than half of the young adults that apply for a job offer are turned down by the company they applied to do the following reasons broken down by percentage; lack of experience (46%), followed by lack of knowledge (10%), and age (5%). Waiting until they graduate is a practice that must fall to the wayside as it is harming our young ones. Promoting learning programs and professional internships is crucial for young people to acquire the experience that they will need for the workforce.
To ensure that our corporate bodies hire our young ones, we must encourage them to invest in training, coaching, and mentoring programs to support their talent base.
Adetola Salau; Educator / Speaker / Author/ Social Entrepreneur / Innovator
She is an Advocate of STEM Education and is Passionate about Education reform. She is an innovative thinker and strives for our society and continent as a whole to reclaim its greatness. She runs an educational foundation with the mission to transform education.