Finance and IT sectors face talent shortage: survey

Japan faces the gravest situation in finding right talent at 85% while 61% of employers in India struggle to fill jobs

While talent shortage has been an existent problem, the situation is expected to turn worse as this problem intensifies around the world. The Annual Talent Shortage Survey by human resource firm ManpowerGroup India said that worldwide talent shortage has local impact with 61% of employers in India struggling to fill jobs. This is considering the fact that the Global Average stands at 35%.

The global results of ManpowerGroup’s Talent Shortage Survey reveal 35% of employers worldwide are reporting shortages, the highest level since prior to the global economic crisis. Japan has one of the gravest shortage situations with 85% employers having difficulty in finding talent.

The study said that employers in India have the most difficulty filling jobs in accounting and finance, IT staff and engineers, as compared to last year when IT staff, marketing/public relations/communication and engineers were the most difficult positions to fill.  

The global study further revealed that apart from employers in Japan, those in Brazil (68%) are having the greatest difficulty finding the required talent, while those in South Africa (6%), Ireland (3%) and Spain (3%) report the least difficulty.

According to the global results, India and China are the highest-ranking countries for offshoring, ranking in first and second place, respectively. However, the study said that these countries also show some of the largest increases in talent shortages between the 2009 global low-point and the latest survey. For example, in 2009, 20% of employers in India reported difficulty filling jobs. Four years later, the figure has increased to 61%.

A G Rao, Group Managing Director ManpowerGroup India said, "Accountants and auditors are responsible for a wide assortment of tasks ranging from bookkeeping to tax preparation to strategic planning like advising companies on how to cut costs and increase profits. The recent global financial crisis has been a significant driver of growth in the accounting sector. Further, with the Internet becoming a ubiquitous part of almost every individual, a lot of business activities have moved online making it a necessity to have skilled IT staff."

The research shows that globally the roles most difficult to fill are skilled trades workers, engineers and sales representatives, which is unchanged from last year. It also showed that employers reported that accounting and finance and management positions are also increasingly hard to fill.

Despite acknowledging the impact talent shortages have on their business, the study said that 22% of employers are not changing course to identify new ways to address these shortages.

ManpowerGroup today also launched a new insight paper, The Great Talent Shortage Awakening: Actions to take for a Sustainable Workforce, which examines several strategies HR leaders, can pursue to fuel their organization’s competitiveness for years to come. These include identifying and attracting untapped talent, creating a culture of talent development, implementing a Teachable Fit framework to 'manufacture' talent aligned with business needs, and improving collaboration with education institutions to ensure graduates are work ready.

The global study noted that while employers increasingly recognize that the talent shortage poses a serious threat to their business competitiveness, many appear to be at a loss for answers with more than one fifth reporting they are doing nothing at all to address the problem.

"Merely expanding their workforce is not necessarily the solution and is likely not a viable option anyway when demand is uncertain and subject to economic shocks. In the midst of certain uncertainty, employers must learn how to adapt in real time. To fully succeed in the Human Age, an entirely new brand of workforce flexibility and agility is required," said the global survey report.

MOST POPULAR JOBS: In 2012 and 2013
Jobs most in demand in 2013 in India	Jobs most in demand in 2012 in India
1. Accounting and Finance Staff	1. IT Staff
2.  IT Staff	2.Marketing/Communications/ Public Relations Staff
3. Engineers	3. Engineers
4. Management/Executive	4. Sales Representatives
5. Marketing/Communications/ Public Relations Staff	5. Teachers
6. Teachers	6. Accounting and Finance staff
7. Sales Representatives	7. Call centers operators
8. Buying and Procurement Staff	8. Insurance staff (Qualified Brokers, clerks etc.)
9. IT Managers/IT Project Managers/IT Directors	9. Secretaries, PAs, Administrative assistants and office support staff.
10. Researchers (R&D)	10. Researchers (R&D)