What happens when your workers don’t have the skills you need? Read on to learn from the success stories of real-life companies.
The continued widening of the skills gap is a problem for many companies looking to hire top talent. Organisations now need to consider how they can help shape candidates into the workers they need. But to do this, companies must commit to retaining and educating workers. Here are four lessons derived from real-life employers focused on education, training and experience to keep in mind.
Invest in Education
When his core team of animators started aging, Walt Disney needed a new generation of workers who possessed the practical, hands-on skills and the necessary classical skills needed to make animated movies. The problem he faced, however, was that traditional art schools were unlikely to produce what Disney needed for its blockbuster animated features. To bridge this skills gap, he set up the Character Animation Programme, a new school created from two small arts schools in which retired Disney animation artists taught students. This allowed Disney to handpick graduates for job openings each year, and possibly saved the company from going under due to lack of talent.
As an employer, if graduates aren’t coming to you with the skills you need, you should find a way to offer the skills training that existing programmes lack.
Pull Talent from Untapped Places
Inspired by Big Brother, Year Up challenges urban young adults to be professional, work hard and do everything they need to start their careers at great companies.
Its founder and CEO, Gerald Chertavian, recognised the disconnect between the large amount of vacancies businesses have and the lack of opportunities and support afforded to young men and women in low-income areas. With the Year Up programme, students receive hands-on skill development, college credits and corporate internship experience, while companies can build a diverse pipeline of motivated talent. Ideal candidates don’t always come from the usual places, and you, the employer, should open your mind to unique and unusual resources that haven’t been tapped.
Fund and Support Your Community
When Randall Stephenson became CEO of AT&T in 2007, he planned on adding 5,000 U-Verse installers. However, he couldn’t find enough skilled workers to do the job. This led him to start the AT&T Aspire Foundation, which focuses on raising graduation rates through community grants and mentorship. In 2013, the foundation boasted more than 5.3 million employee and retiree volunteer mentor hours, and gave more than US$130 million in corporate, employee, social investment and foundation programmes. It pays to turn an eye towards future talent, and you can use your existing resources to give back to the community and cultivate a future talent pipeline for your organisation. Go Global but Think Local
Cummins Inc., a global power leader that designs, manufactures, sells and services diesel engines and related technology, recognised that there were limited pathways to good jobs — in addition to a growing skills gap in its own communities — and tackled this issue head-on with its Technical Education for Communities (TEC) programme.
This global initiative offers local vocational education programmes and a standardised education programme focused on a market-relevant curriculum, teacher training, career guidance and practical experience. Each site, whether it’s in Morocco, Nigeria, China, Turkey or the US, has a TEC manager and a local site team who work together to conduct a community needs assessment and determine the skills gaps in the local market. The team then identifies potential school and industry partners to work with to improve the education outcomes and job prospects of the students. In short, think big about how you can help close the skills gap, while still considering the specific needs of your candidates and local area.
