The last few years have seen a lot of talk around skilled workforce shortages in metropolises, global tech hubs, and service-based economies. The recruitment situation post-pandemic looks much more complex. According to an article published by Deloitte about the Global labour shortage, countries like the USA, Canada, Australia and parts of the EU are struggling to find workers since the lockdown has opened.
In Canada, for instance, the job vacancies are at their highest since 2015 at 9%. From the figure below, published by Deloitte Insights, we can see that the USA has vacancies at a staggering 33% while Australia is at an astonishing 54%.
The vacancies are not as surprising as the unemployment figures in these countries. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia had an unemployment rate of 4.2 % in Jan 2022, while statistics for the USA show a similar figure of 4% unemployment.
So why is there a skilled labour shortage when professionals in these countries can fill those thousands of vacancies? We have discussed possible reasons by studying insights published by consultancies like Mckinsey and Company :
HESITANCY OF WORKING PARENTS
Working Professionals who have children are unwillingly to go back to offices because they fear that their unvaccinated children might contract covid-19. While the vaccination drive for children has steadily started, the schools under lockdown pose another problem. Women in the workforce have disproportionately not been able to join back because of a lack of reliable childcare.
DIFFICULT REALLOCATION OF TALENT
In some developed countries, the government has granted substantial stimulus to unemployed citizens. The government stimulus has deterred skilled professionals from actively seeking work while the virus is still with us.
LOCAL MIGRATION
When the virus hit the world, people moved from expensive metropolitan cities to more affordable suburbs and cosy small towns. Before the pandemic struck, citizens commuted to work daily. Former office-goers are now looking for remote working opportunities. They are not ready to take public transport to work for fear of contracting the virus. They also don’t want to spend hours on the everyday commute to work or pay astronomical rents for homes in big cities.
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
Many immigrants who worked in tech, hospitality or manufacturing gave up their cushy jobs to be close to their families during the pandemic. The UK took a big hit here. First Brexit, then Covid struck. Countries like Australia and Canada are in a similar situation where people either left for their home countries or the closed borders did not allow them back.
UNMATCHABLE SKY-ROCKETING SALARIES
With the talent pool getting smaller, companies are ready to offer lucrative unheard of salaries that are hard to match.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS
The reluctance of skilled workers to go back to office ranks high on the list of reasons behind the skilled labour shortage. The fear of the virus coupled with the ease and convenience of working from home has made people wary of going back to work. As mentioned earlier in the article, many skilled professionals have moved back to their hometowns, miles away from large business districts. Expat professionals with exceptional skills who had gone back to their own countries post-pandemic have chosen to stay back during these unprecedented times. People want to live close to their families to support them in times of sickness.
As skilled professionals now prefer remote opportunities over factors like salary and promotion, it makes sense for employers to revisit and rethink their work-from-office expectations.
Remote working seems like the logical choice here. Workers are willing to work for companies that allow them to stay in the safety of their homes. Companies now need to invest in tech that would facilitate seamless work-from-home arrangements.
TALENT BEYOND BORDERS
Companies would have to open up to the possibility of hiring talent from across the world. Owing to sky-rocketing salaries in some domains, international migration and worldwide distributed talent, organisations may have to consider hiring employees remotely. Many countries have talent clusters that makes opening offices in these countries a sensible choice. Running Offices in these countries is gainful and requires a modest investment.
HOW CAN NEXOM HELP COMPANIES TO EMBRACE THE NEW NORMAL?
Nexom provides companies with conducive end-to-end recruitment solutions in this post-pandemic landscape.
We can help you with these critical issues-
1.Execute Hiring and Onboarding of employees anywhere in the world.
2.Payroll management and compliance in tandem with local government regulations.
3.Set up an off-shore team in an off-shore office with all the necessary infrastructure and documentation.
4.Buy, track and maintain assets in off-shore office.
5.Implement superior cyber security to protect data and privacy.
