The PwC 17th Annual Global CEO Survey for 2014 has a number of interesting topics and observations. And discusses a variety of topics. One that interested me was the topic of Developing Tomorrows Workforce
This topic which started on page 18 of the survey, talks about the problems the CEO's see in the work force of tomorrow. These CEO's recognize the importance of the work force, and believe that it is talent that is the main drive for business growth. However there are problems with making sure a business has the talented workforce that it needs. Over half of the CEO's surveyed want to increase their workforce this year yet two thirds are concerned about getting the correct skills.
It is not just that they are dealing with an aging workforce and these people are starting to retire, the emerging economies (where they expected to find replacement workforce) is also seeing reduction in the available workforce as their economies continue to industrialize.
In fact the 63% of the CEO's were concerned about the availability of required skills. This shortage of skills is driving up the cost of labor, and more than half of the CEO's expressed concerns about this increasing cost.
As a result these CEO's believe that they have to change there recruitment & retention strategies, Unfortunately nearly two-thirds of the CEO do not believe that their HR department is capable of adjusting to these new trends.
With the difficulty in recruiting new workers, some companies are looking at ways to use their current staff more effectively. Changes to the work environment, such as better lighting, adjustable magnifying, glasses, computer displays with variable font sizes and forgiving flooring material can made all the difference.
Since I, personally am approaching the older worker stage, and in some countries I now fall under a type of protective status, I am always interested in how companies are dealing with the aging workforce, retention of existing staff, and how to attract replacement staff.
What are your companies doing to about the skills shortage? Are they looking at underutilized people? Are they looking in non traditional areas?
For those of you who would like to read the full report, please use the following link http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/2014/assets/pwc-17th-annual-global-ceo-survey-jan-2014.pdf
