Use boot camps and apprenticeships to address skills gaps.
President Donald Trump has tasked his administration with creating 25 million new jobs, but a lack of jobs may not be what's holding back American business. Many experts believe a skills gap is the real problem.
ADP Research Institute reports that hiring in January 2017 was the fastest in seven months, and stats released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 235,000 in February. Likewise, research from HR consultancy Randstad Sourceright finds that companies expect to hire extensively in the coming year—41 percent will add workers, compared with 32 percent in 2016.
But of the 400-plus global HR executives Randstad surveyed, even more say that a skills gap will have a greater impact on their businesses in the future. In fact, four-fifths believe that a shortage of sufficiently skilled workers will affect their companies in the next 12 months. Research by the Association for Talent Development concurs with these findings; according to Bridging the Skills Gap: Workforce Development Is Everyone's Business, 45 percent of talent development professionals say there are too few qualified candidates for certain types of jobs.
Those data support figures from the BLS, which reports that there were 5.6 million job openings just six months ago. The number of job openings now is more than double the 2.1 million during July 2009, just after the recession ended. So the good news is that jobs are growing and companies are hiring. The bad news is that they're not finding the skilled labor they need to succeed.
The skills gap takes different forms. It can be the result of youths struggling to enter the workforce, or midcareer workers who need to upgrade skills due to tech advancements or job loss. Whatever the circumstance, in addition to traditional degree and training programs, experts suggest that businesses consider two key strategies (one old, one new) for closing the skills gap: apprenticeships and boot camps.
Apprenticeships
Although the number of students going to college has increased to 20 million today from 15 million in 2000, not every career needs a four-year degree. Unfortunately, the number of apprenticeships has dwindled, from 32,200 in 2003 to just 21,000 in 2015, according to BLS figures.Those who run apprenticeship programs cite the declining influence of labor unions as one reason why programs have shut down. Also, there's a perception that apprenticeships are only for manufacturing and low-skill jobs.
But business might want to give apprenticeships another look. They can offer a precise match between the skills companies want and the training workers need, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship promotes them as a great model for transferring skills from one generation to the next—something in great need as Baby Boomers retire.
Building on leadership across a broad range of states and industry partners, the Department of Labor is helping to jump-start apprenticeships by awarding nearly $90 million in funding for the ApprenticeshipUSA initiative, hoping to double and diversify registered apprenticeships by 2019 in fields such as information technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and other emerging industries.
Boot camps
The boot camp model of short-term, intensive training has been embraced as an effective and efficient alternative way to upgrade skills, especially in the IT sector. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor chief economist, says people don't always need a degree when it comes to staying up to speed on technology. Boot camps offer a rapid way to learn such skills as basic coding, web design, cybersecurity, and data management. But the tech sector isn't the only one facing a skills gap; a panel at SXSW 2017 explored how the world of middle-skill jobs can scale the boot camp concept to address talent shortages across industries.
The key to success, according to McKinsey, is that these two- to three-month boot camps must be practical. Many include simulations and serious games customized to the workplace, where learners can play virtually and repeatedly. "Programs need to have a strong in-person component to deliver the necessary dosage of intensive practice and to build the trust that allows providers to support learners," advise Martha Laboissiere and Mona Mourshed, senior analysts for McKinsey, in Closing the Skills Gap: Creating Workforce-Development Programs That Work for Everyone.
Hard-to-Fill Jobs
The American Staffing Association's Skills Gap Index has identified the hardest-to-fill occupations in the United States.
Engineering, information technology, and scientific:
- computer and information research scientists
- information security analysts
Healthcare:
- physician assistants
- psychiatrists
Industrial:
- heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
- food service managers
Office-clerical and administrative:
- interviewers, except eligibility and loan tellers
Professional-managerial:
- tax preparers
- sales engineers
Source: American Staffing Association
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