America's Talent Gap

America's Talent Gap

·         29% of CEOs have said that the inability to find the talent they need is impacting strategic investments, causing them to either cancel or delay new initiatives.

·         77% of CEOs are concerned about the unavailability of key skills, with 60 percent saying that this skills gap makes it harder to fill jobs.

·         There are open, available jobs for up to 1/3 of the current U.S. unemployment rate -- yes, one-third.

What's behind the gap? There are multiple factors. One important cause is American companies' increasing need for employees with a wider breadth of knowledge and more sophisticated skills

o   topics like personal finance and economics

o   traditional STEM-related (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills.

American business leaders, working collaboratively with government and educators, can provide the leadership needed to ensure that the United States succeeds in this globally competitive world.

·         finding qualified talent, retaining them and maximizing their potential for the companies' and their own benefits.   Of course, after businesses find the talent, they face the challenge of developing it further and keeping it.

·         making investments… and become involved in the education process, helping educators to teach students the additional skills they need to succeed.

·         using employees' core skill set to focus on improving skills our future leaders need for tomorrow, regardless of the positions they might hold.

·         internships and job-shadowing programs, allowing youth to experience the types of promising jobs that await them.

·         mentoring and developing talent and ensuring that this talent then has places to go within organizations. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-moritz/americas-talent-gap_b_2080162.html