Posted on 06/19/2012 12:15:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week’s disappointing unemployment report has refocused attention on the question of why, despite modest signs of economic recovery in recent months, American companies aren’t hiring.
Indeed, some of the most puzzling stories to come out of the Great Recession are the many claims by employers that they cannot find qualified applicants to fill their jobs, despite the millions of unemployed who are seeking work. Beyond the anecdotes themselves is survey evidence, most recently from Manpower, which finds roughly half of employers reporting trouble filling their vacancies.
The first thing that makes me wonder about the supposed “skill gap” is that, when pressed for more evidence, roughly 10% of employers admit that the problem is really that the candidates they want won’t accept the positions at the wage level being offered. That’s not a skill shortage, it’s simply being unwilling to pay the going price.
But the heart of the real story about employer difficulties in hiring can be seen in the Manpower data showing that only 15% of employers who say they see a skill shortage say that the issue is a lack of candidate knowledge, which is what we’d normally think of as skill. Instead, by far the most important shortfall they see in candidates is a lack of experience doing similar jobs. Employers are not looking to hire entry-level applicants right out of school. They want experienced candidates who can contribute immediately with no training or start-up time. That’s certainly understandable, but the only people who can do that are those who have done virtually the same job before, and that often requires a skill set that, in a rapidly changing world, may die out soon after it is perfected.
(Excerpt) Read more at business.time.com ...
Employers have for the most part bought into Education Industry propaganda that students will pop out of colleges and universities 100% prepared to their specs and ready go to go to work with no investment in training or ramp-up time on the employer’s part required.
This is fallacy. But a very well-sold one, and just about all employers have bought into it to some degree. So they make no allowance for the basically intelligent and hard-working candidate who could be trained to do the job.
That is exactly what I am experiencing. I have dozens of applications posted online. I have all the requirements for the jobs listed, but consistently receive rejection notices. The pay I expect is the state average for my profession. I've called a few HR departments only to get a rude scolding to 'apply online'. Some of the positions I've applied for have been open for months!!
It's absolutely maddening!
About a year ago I saw a help-wanted ad for what seemed to be an engineer to test the software that runs a GPS receiver - a non-trivial task.
The quoted wage was $33 per hour.
No benefits.
In Los Angeles.
That's not even new-grad engineering pay.
It was clear they were trying to prove there were "no available Americans" so they could justify their H1B visa request for Indians who would live four to a one-bedroom apartment and work at that rate.
Hard to believe that people who can't pass a drug test would even bother to go through the application process.
Also, back in the 1980’s, the off shore rigs paid SERIOUS money, even for cooks and custodians.
It used to be 14 days on, then 14 days off.
Have things changed that much?
My former employer went the other way. They systematically fired all the high salary people and replaced them with recent college graduates and interns. This may work in some industries but not medical devices. In the last year they have had 3 recalls, each costing several million.
I have a great deal of experience in medical devices/FDA and have worked in both R & D and production. I know lean and six sigma and can work as an ME or QE. My resume generates lots of phone calls until they find out how old I am (69). Basically, they want 35 years of experience in a person 22 years old.
Your point is a valid one. I worry about us spiraling down (further). God Willing, things will get better after the 0Care decision (+ some others) & November.
The solution is simple.
1, train one of the new hires.
2, raise the wage.
_______________________________________________________
Or, for those coming out of school, take the job and wages offered, get experience, and immediately start the search for another job.
They’re getting experience, and when another job is found, and they quit their present employment and move on, it gives the employer pause to reconsider.
I’ve done this throughout my career and I presently make extremely good money.
My resume is chalk full of varied experience.
I don’t play the discrimination game. They’re either competent or they’re not. If they’re not, they don’t stay employed. Lack of knowledge can be overcome with training for those who lack experience. Incompetence cannot.
I also don’t let HR screen applicants for technical positions. It’s pointless.
I’ve only been offshore for one project; it was small and that was years ago.
I believe the rotation is the same and the pay good. The food was darn good.
RE: It’s getting difficult to start a job at an ‘entry level’ position and slowly gain skills and experience that will take you up the ladder. Many ‘entry level’ positions are virtually dead-end positions with little opportunity for advancement.
Tell me about it, I see entry-level positions with the following requirements all the time — “Must have 2 years experience”. How is one supposed to get experience when entry level jobs require experience? This is the chicken-egg problem.
See this ad as an example:
___________________________________
Mortgage Sales Assoc (safe)
Garden City, NY
Wells Fargo Careers - Posted about 13 hours ago
Job Title: Mortgage Sales Assoc (safe)
Requisition Number: 3620065
Schedule Type: Regular
Work Hours:m 40.00
Telecommute Option: Not Indicated
We have an immediate opening for a Mortgage Sales Associate. This is an entry level position responsible for administrative, marketing, and support and sales support to Home Mortgage Consultants, Sales Supervisors or Branch Sales Managers.
This individual may also be responsible for managing and/or maintaining relationships with current and prospective customers while providing excellent customer service. Strong sales and organizational skills are essential. Bi-lingual job seekers are encouraged to apply.
Basic Qualifications
2+ years sales and mortgage industry experience.
Minimum Qualifications
This position requires S.A.F.E. registration at the time of employment. The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) web site (mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org) provides the MU4R questions and registration required for employment in this position.
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST.
(Note: This is an ENTRY-LEVEL position ).
It is the computer-screening software that is the blame, mostly, in my experience.
I worked for a major aerospace defense contractor and we “couldn't find good candidates.” However, after a while I discovered I had to FORCE HR to forward the entire list (hundreds).
I could vet that list easily.
Otherwise we were stuck getting computer-generated candidates that were recent university graphic artist or journalism majors. . .when the job recq was for an international business development manager with aviation experience.
HR is the problem.
Let me say that again: HR. IS. THE. PROBLEM.
You don’t have to tell anyone your age, you know that, right?
RE: Employers need jobs done right now, and they don’t want to invest in training, because in this economy, they don’t know how long they will need the employee.
Remind us once again, were employers willing to invest in training during the good old days when taxes were lower and the unemployment rate was less than 5%? Not sure if this was the case then...
RE: Wages will never rise when you have a continuous flood of people coming in who will work for $5.00-8.00 hr.
That would be illegal in NYC, where the MINIMUM wage will soon be $8.50 if the idiotic legislators have their way. But then, if you come here illegally, what’s to stop you from accepting illegal wage rates?
RE: You can’t fire them when they are up on retirement age. Age discrimination.
Oh yes you can. Companies do it all the time... Ageism is RAMPANT here in the USA and often, those who get laid off are the older folks ( those in their mid to late 50’s ).
They will of course NOT tell you that you’re being laid off because you;re old. They’ll say it’s because your position has been eliminated or many other unrelated reasons.
Suffice it to say that you’ll have a hard time proving you got laid off because of age if you were to sue for discrimination.
” you’ll have a hard time proving you got laid off because of age if you were to sue for discrimination. “
You’ll have an even harder time proving you were not hired because of age discrimination -
yep, only thing I still own ;)
It is possible that what is being described in the article is aecenonic DEPRESSION rather than faulty thinking on the part of applicants or employers. Employers may be offering as much as they can but it may be far below what it presently takes to live decently. “Too few nickles” chasing any given thing.
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