ManpowerGroup Calls for Increased Talent Mobility to Bridge Skills Gaps

Moving People for Work Part of Coordinated Response to Ongoing Talent Mismatch

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Jun 09, 2011, 02:00 ET

VIENNA, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions and a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum (WEF), recommends that increased talent mobility — moving people to where the work is — should be one component of a coordinated public-private response to ongoing talent mismatches, with one third of employers worldwide reporting difficulty filling business-critical jobs.

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ManpowerGroup is this week participating in the World Economic Forum on Europe and Central Asia, "Expanding the Frontiers of Innovation," and today released its new Fresh Perspectives paper titled, "Moving People to Work: Leveraging Talent Mobility to Address the Talent Mismatch in the Human Age." The paper calls for a collaborative effort to attract individuals with in-demand skills both domestically and across international borders.

"While the topic raises passions in light of continuing high unemployment, talent mobility is one proven way to address to the talent supply and demand imbalance that currently exists in the labor market," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO. "It is by no means the only answer and must form part of a multi-stakeholder response, but with OECD societies aging and emerging markets struggling to find the required talent there is a critical need to expand the view of talent sources."

According to ManpowerGroup's 2011 Talent Shortage Survey, 34 percent of employers are having difficulty filling vacancies, yet in response to ongoing economic uncertainty many governments have tightened immigration policies. While in the long-term education and training systems need to be overhauled to supply a better pipeline of talent to ensure growth, many of the skills employers need cannot be developed quickly so strategic migration is the best short-term way of getting the right people in the right place at the right time.

Talent mobility does not merely concern bringing in foreign workers; talent mismatches can also be addressed nationally by moving domestic talent within national borders, and although the recession has impeded the ability to relocate for work due to not being able to sell homes or pay relocation costs, ManpowerGroup research shows that 27 percent of workers are more willing to move for work since the recession.

"This is about the movement of talent to where it is needed in order to benefit economies, which is a win-win situation for all stakeholders," added Joerres. "Mobility policies that are sensitive to the social implications of moving people for work are an effective approach, as they spark innovation and collaboration, while many high-skilled migrants eventually return to their homelands, taking fresh perspectives and valuable new skills with them, and fostering brain circulation."

At the WEF on Europe and Central Asia, Francoise Gri, ManpowerGroup President of Southern Europe, participated in a panel in which she called for businesses and governments to work together to build a robust labor market that gives businesses the flexibility to hire, and creates an environment which nurtures talent pools and fuels sustainable growth. "With the world teetering on the edge of a global employability crisis, the only way to prevent it is to get to solutions that work. It's a shared responsibility among governments, employers and individuals to pull us back from the edge, and we should err on the side of action," said Gri.

To "manufacture" talent for the long term, national governments, academia and industry need to work together to better align education and workforce training with the needs of industry. Companies need to implement a robust workforce strategy that takes into account not only the skills needed to execute business strategy, but external factors that impact talent sources such as demographic shifts, technological revolutions and the rise of emerging markets.

This analysis of skills needed now and in the future must involve governments and educators to invest in the right kind of training in order to plug skills gaps. Businesses should be incentivized to develop talent locally and collaborate with schools to make sure they are providing the skills and training that the marketplace needs.

To read the full paper, "Moving People to Work: Leveraging Talent Mobility to Address the Talent Mismatch in the Human Age" and the accompanying Migration for Work survey, visit: http://manpowergroup.com/research/research.cfm

ManpowerGroup has been a proud strategic partner of the World Economic Forum (WEF) since 2004, and is the only company in the industry to have a strategic partnership with WEF. In January, at the 2011 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. ManpowerGroup actively participates in Forum events, industry programs and communities, and is a member of the Women Leaders and Gender Parity program, promoting women's leadership and closing gender gaps. ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres served as co-chair for the Forum's 2010 Europe Summit in Brussels. ManpowerGroup President of Corporate and Government Affairs David Arkless is Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Skills and Talent Mobility. For more information about ManpowerGroup's partnership with the World Economic Forum, visit: http://manpowergroup.com/press/wef2011.cfm

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $19 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined – because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup