Workers with specialized skills like electricians, carpenters and welders are in critically short supply in many large economies, a shortfall that marks another obstacle to the global economic recovery, a research paper by Manpower Inc concludes.
The global staffing and employment services company says employers, governments and trade groups need to collaborate on strategic migration policies that can alleviate worker shortages. Skilled work is usually specific to a given location: the work cannot move, so the workers have to.
"Countries should be developing policies which facilitate positive migration to fuel economic growth through providing skilled workers where they are needed, rather than creating barriers to immigration," Manpower Chief Executive Jeff Joerres said in a statement.
The shortage of skilled workers is the No. 1 or No. 2 hiring challenge in six of the 10 biggest economies, Manpower found in a recent survey of 35,000 employers. Skilled trades were the top area of shortage in 10 of 17 European countries, according to the survey.
Examples of successful, targeted migration include an Ohio shipbuilder that brought in experienced workers from Mexico and Croatia; and a French metal-parts maker that hired Manpower to find welders in Poland.
The skilled trades category also includes jobs like bricklayers, cabinet makers, plumbers and butchers. Older, experienced workers are retiring and their younger replacements often do not have the right training because their schools are out of touch with modern business needs, according to Manpower.
Social stigma
Also contributing to the shortage is social stigma assigned to skilled blue-collar work, Manpower argues in its paper published on Wednesday.
A poll of 15-year-olds by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found only one in 10 American teenagers see themselves in a blue-collar job as adults. The proportion was even lower in Japan.
Education could address that stigma. Students should be reminded that blue-collar work can be lucrative: skilled plumbers can make upwards of $75,000 a year, Manpower argues.
Overall, Manpower's fifth annual talent shortage survey found 31 percent of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable workers available in their markets, up one percentage point over last year.
Although the proportion of employers seeing shortages is still below pre-recession levels, shortages in some countries are more critical than the global average.
Majorities of those surveyed in Poland, Singapore, Argentina and Brazil reported shortages. In Japan, 76 percent had trouble finding the right workers, the highest reading among the 36 countries and territories.
Click here for Manpower's research papers.
