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July 6, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
It’s a similar picture in neighbouring Bulgaria, which is also among the 11 countries where the greatest difficulties in finding employees were reported, the survey of a total of 39,195 employers across six industry sectors in 43 countries and territories showed.
In Bulgaria, 68% of employers questioned by Infocorp on behalf of ManpowerGroup said they had difficulty finding staff. In nearby Turkey (66%), Greece (61%) and Slovakia (54%), similar problems were reported.
Indeed the skills shortage is a growing phenom- enon across the CEE region, where employment is rising to record highs, putting upward pres- sure on wages and causing employers to be increasingly creative in filling positions.
Employers from Poland and Hungary (both 51%) were rated has having “above average” difficulty in filling positions, though only 36% of respondents from the Czech Republic said they had problems, and 40% of those from Slovenia.
No countries from the region were among the nine countries whose employers had the least difficulty in filling positions. Chinese managers had the easiest task, with just 13% saying it was hard to fill positions, followed by Ireland (18%), the UK (19%) and the Netherlands (24%).
Globally, 45% of employers said they couldn’t find the skills they need, the report says, and the prob- lem is worse for large organisations with 250+ em- ployees, as 67% reported talent shortages in 2018.
“Every industry is impacted. From manufactur- ing to mining, transport to trade, employers cannot find the people they need with the right blend of technical skills and human strengths,” ManpowerGroup said.
Economies in the Central and Southeast Eu- rope region are growing fast, but this isn’t just
down to economic expansion, or even mass emigration. Manpower’s report talks of a “skills revolution”, with the type of roles and as a con- sequence the type of skills required changing radically in recent years. Often this includes soft skills: “Globally, more than half (56%) of em- ployers say communication skills, written and verbal, are their most valued human strengths followed by collaboration and problem-solving,” says the report. “Keeping pace in this Skills Rev- olution demands faster, more targeted upskilling and talent management than ever before.”
“With record talent shortages around the world, employers should shift their focus from just in time hiring strategies to becoming builders of talent for today and tomorrow. Developing the right blend of people, skills, processes and technology is the only way to execute your business strategy, create value and improve people’s lives,” commented Jonas Prising, chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup.
Tackling this shortage has required companies to combine “upskilling” their existing workforces with reaching out to new talent pools.
“Thirty-three percent are looking at different demographics, age ranges or geographies, using social and traditional media to meet potential employees where they are, or tapping boomerang retirees or returning parents and part-timers,” says the report.
In the CEE region this has included reaching across national borders to countries with lower wages and higher unemployment, in particular Ukraine. Ukraine currently has the lowest wages in Europe, according to government figures, and millions of Ukrainians have taken advantage of the visa-free regime introduced by the EU last June to go abroad to find work. As a result of
the surge in migration, remittances to Ukraine from citizens working abroad are expected to top $10bn this year, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said on June 21.