Why companies aren't getting the employees they need
Educators, employers and economists say it all the time: American workers don't have the right education, training, and/or skills to match what companies want. But Peter Cappelli says that the companies are the culprits. Today, we discuss why companies aren't getting the employees they need.
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I am a skilled worker with an ivy-league Master's Degree, teaching, speaking, and publication credits, and excellent job experience. When I moved to MN a year ago, I applied for many jobs for which I had ALL the "required" and even all of the "desired experience, and yet was passed over even for interviews time and again. The "perfect" candidates must be out there if employers aren't taking the time to talk to "near perfect" candidates. -
The first caller briefly touched on another excellent point. Coming out of high school, anyone who has the diligence, intelligence, and communication skills to be an effective employee is expected to go to college, and nearly all do so with the expectation of a higher income than would have been accessible to them as high school grads. Coming out of college, they have no choice but to insist on an income high enough to pay off their college loans, which prices them out of the manufacturing sector and much of the service sector. The ubiquity and cost of college education has raised the cost basis of qualified labor beyond what some employers can afford.
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I don't understand why employers are so upset about raising their wages. Guess what, the cost of college has quadrupled and my generation is saddled with an overwhelming amount of college debt we choose to acquire to gain the necessary skills to get hired. Employers shouldn't complain about having to compensate for the skills they say they want.
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Caller: My daughter is trying to enter the work force after graduating from college in May. As an employer, I realized we're shooting ourselves in the foot. Many companies ask for resumes to be submitted online, and questions answered online. The system asks for a desired salary, not minimum or acceptable salary. So those who give desired salary are being screened out.
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A deep educational issue is that schools and colleges systematically do not know what skills and knowledge their students have, and they communicate to students that all that matters is to accumulate course credits and grades without explicit attention to their development of student capabilities.
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I agree with Jim, and I am also from Minnesota. I bopught a house at 22. Didn't finish college. I have been at my job for 7+ years. I am involved civically nad my credit score is impeccable, LOL. But Target wouldn't look at me, because I lack an expensive degree. Your loss, Tar-jay....
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Cappelli: Yes, this software for HR is flawed. Unless you answer some questions exactly right, you may get kicked out -- even though the "mismatch" is trivial. So thousands apply, but are kicked out due to "requirements" that even HR personnel might not agree with.
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Right now in fact I have a job offer which is supposedly what the employer can afford. I enjoy the work, the environment, but I'm not sure I can afford to take it as it does not cover my expenses. This means I have to continue to work a 2nd job to cover my needs which takes time and energy that I will not be able give to employer #1. Not to mention I have no life outside of work. It seems like they keep wanting a commitment from employees, but are not willing to make an investment in them anymore. I especially am concerned about this "contract" work that seems to have taken over in the workplace, in an effort to avoid paying benefits.
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I have a cousin with an Electrical Engineering degree, he's been working all sorts of jobs since he left college about a year and a half ago (he is currently working a temporary job as a technician at Honeywell). No one is willing to hire him full time; what's going on, I thought employers were looking for high tech degrees? -
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Totally agree that companies are only looking for the perfect candidates, especially in MN, and tend to view anyone else as too risky. Also, the on-line applications weeding out people for trivial reasons seems very true, especially the salary question, and lots of these applications will not let you submit unless you put in a value.
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After dropping out of college and working as a programmer in a legacy environment, I returned to college in my 40s. I adapted very well to Object-Oriented programming, and did better than most of my classmates. After graduation, they were hired and I wasn't. Some potential employers expected me to stick with legacy programming. Others had jobs with a language or something for which I was not trained. I pointed out I could quickly adapt; the reply was "We don't have time to train. We need someone who can be productive the first day." One recruiter told me they didn't need C++ (the main language I used at college); they needed Java. I took several courses in Java. As far as I'm concerned, "We need someone with different skills" is a way of avoiding discussing whatever the real issue is. I have no faith in suggestions that I study again to acquire more skills. It would be a waste of my time, and the money of my relatives and tax payers. (Taxpayers payed half my tuition when I returned to college.)
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Cappelli: The supply of skilled workers isn't necessarily low, but training will help. Employers want work-based skills, not theoretical skills. One great idea is to pay workers less when they enter the job, but train. It's a matter of co-investing in training. Employers and vocational schools should work together more.
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The reason companies can't afford employees with the qualifications they need is that they are often forced to compete in a global economy that sets the price of their goods or, increasingly, services. Until the general world standard of living approaches the US level we cannot compete in those areas exposed to this competition.
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Caller/Employer: One limitation in my hiring habits is that there's a risk in my industry (construction) is that you can't always keep them busy. So if we hire and later fire when the season is slack, we'll get penalized through higher unemployment insurance payments, etc. So we're hesitant to hire when we're not sure about the economy.
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We've heard the point of view of small businesses and commentary on the labor force in general; what about specifics of the labor force? Let's say you're a newly-minted college grad. You have good skills, good oral and written grammar, and $48,000 of student loan debt. Ms. Oldham apparently wants you to accept $8 an hour to work, which doesn't cover rent and food, much less student loan debt payments. If you want to pay minimum wage, you're going to get McDonald's-level skills. If you want skilled workers, pay them a market wage! Pretty simple economic concept ...
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That "lost generation" of Minn workers could extend to generations beyond the recession bit.ly -
I realize that keeping people busy to maximize your dollar is a concern, but it's part of preparing to hire. Make a list about projects you've wanted to get done, and stay in communication with your employee. They may have skills you aren't even aware of that would benefit other areas of your business.
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Adding to the complexity of everything said on the call is a lack of any workforce strategy. If managers/leaders can't indentify the ways in which they are moving the organization forward over next 3-5 years, how can you be effective in hiring the right talent and skill sets? Alignment of skill set with the business strategy is critical- but not happening.
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I think colleges should provide more of an environment closer to working in real-life situations. This could be enhanced by working with actual companies giving moot assignments. (But that might be expensive.) College courses in computer programming are deficient in persistence, and persistence is needed in almost all real-life type work.
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