Despite high unemployment rates paired with an uncertain economic recovery, 37 percent of employers in North and Latin America are still having trouble filling key jobs due to a shortage of qualified candidates. In the U.S. alone, 52 percent of employers report difficulty filling some jobs. That’s according to the 6th annual Talent Shortage Survey conducted by the Manpower Group.
Several jobs that are common in Texas school districts made the top 10 “hard-to-fill” list for U.S. participants 
. They include:
It may be surprising to see teachers on the list for the U.S. with the current levels of education funding cuts in Texas and other states. However, the supply and demand for several categories of teachers including science, technology, math, and other shortage areas, is out of balance. As with Manpower’s survey results, there are simply not enough qualified and certified candidates to fill those positions.
The survey examined the factors contributing to the talent shortage and described them in terms of candidate-specific, environmental, or organizational factors. The top factors cited by North and Latin America companies were candidate-specific, meaning applicants lacked experience (32 percent) or lacked the required technical skills for the job (24 percent).
Next on the list is the environmental factor. Twenty-three percent of companies noted a simple lack of applicants or no applicants. Organizational factors, such as low pay, were further down the list at 18 percent. In fact, five of the nine top reasons employers noted they were having trouble filling jobs related directly to a weak or very small candidate pool for their hard-to-fill vacancies.
The impact of unfilled jobs has had a high to medium effect on 61 percent of employers in the survey so they are examining ways to fill their vacant jobs. The most common strategy for overcoming a shortage used by survey respondents is to invest in current staff by providing additional training and development (32 percent).
Developing current staff, broadening candidate searches into new regions, and hiring unqualified candidates with learning and growth potential were the only strategies employed by more than 10 percent of respondents. Surprisingly, only 10 percent of U.S. and Latin American employers reported that they were focusing more on staff retention for positions that are tough to fill. Likewise, only 8 percent are offering more attractive salaries.
—“Manufacturing Talent for the Human Age/2011 Talent Shortage Survey Results,” ManpowerGroup.
