A flexible approach to help bridge the skills gap

6th December, 2011

A flexible approach to help bridge the skills gap

One in three (33 per cent) New Zealand employers say the extension of the 90-day probation period to all workers starting a new job has made them more willing to trial and recruit additional staff.

Such flexibility to trial candidates is one of six strategies identified by recruiting experts Hays in their recently released white paper, Bridging the skills gap, to help organisations overcome skills shortages.

“A critical success factor in this changing market is the capacity and willingness to be flexible,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand. “This applies not only to how you recruit, train, develop or retain people, but also how you adapt to the changing market. This will separate those employers who succeed from those who aren’t even aware of what’s working and what’s not.”

Hays recommend employers consider the following flexible strategies as part of their plan to bridge the skills gap:

1. 90-day probation period:
“One in three employers are more willing to trial and recruit additional staff as a result of the extension of the 90-day probation period,” said Jason. “We’ve seen a particular increase in hiring from small and medium-sized businesses. New Zealand’s high unemployment rate for teens means there is a large pool of potential candidates who can be trained into a role.”

2. Transferable skills:
“Another flexible strategy to consider is transferring skills,” says Jason. “For example, engineering companies are now more flexible with their job descriptions in relation to years of experience, while facilities management companies are willing to consider candidates with electrical or engineering transferable skills.”

3. Recruiting based on potential:
“24 per cent of New Zealand employers said they have frequently recruited unskilled workers and trained them into a role, while 55 per cent have occasionally done so. For example, given the shortage of insurance claims candidates, many employers are recruiting and training up people that may not possess the skills previously sought.”

4. Flexible working options:
“In our survey, 62 per cent of organisations in New Zealand said they offer flexible work practises, compared to 84 per cent in Australia. A further 26 per cent are working to change their culture to support flexibility. Telecommuting, flexible working hours, part-time employment, job sharing and compressed working weeks are all proven flexible workforce strategies,” said Jason.

For more details on this strategy, or to view Hays’ Bridging the Skills Gap white paper, click here or contact your local Hays office.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

About Hays
Hays is the leading global specialist recruiting group. It is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide. It operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

As at 30 June 2011, Hays employed 7,620 staff operating from 255 offices in 31 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2011, Hays reported net fees of £672 million and operating profit of £114 million and placed around 60,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 190,000 people into temporary assignments. 31% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific.

Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the United Kingdom and the USA.

ENDS

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