Alternative Careers to HR: Ever Thought About Being a Welder?

In a study published by Manpower, Inc. on August 25th they concluded that a lack of skilled workers, such as electricians, carpenters and welders, threatens the global economic recovery. According to the report "Employers in six of the world’s 10 biggest economies ranked skilled trades as their No. 1 or No. 2 hiring challenge." The report indicates that there are several factors contributing to this shortage. Primary among them are attitudes, especially in the United States, where for decades parents have told their children to go to college, get an education and then a white collar job. For the recovery to occur those attitudes need to change.

Manpower suggests that easing migration and immigration standards will help, with skilled workers from one country being allowed to transfer to another. They did say however, that these skilled jobs are not easy to outsource and provide good income potential that is pretty consistent despite the economy.

 The skilled trades category also includes jobs like bricklayers, cabinet makers, plumbers and butchers, jobs that typically require a specialist's certification. Many of these jobs are being vacated by retirement and have few candidates to take those spots. As the report says "In the United States, recession and persistent high unemployment may lead parents and young people entering the workforce to reconsider their options."

So if you are tired of trying to find that HR job or you are tired of all the bullsh*t that you have to deal with in HR you may want to consider one of these careers. Afterall it was the road to success for Jennifer Beals' character in Flashdance. (Of course being beautiful, sexy and finding a rich man didn't hurt either.)

Older Workers: A Follow Up and Opportunity

A blog from a couple days ago discussed an article about older workers (See February 12th). Just this morning I read an article written by Joyce Gioia-Herman in the Herman Trend Alert entitled Older Workers in Greater Demand. (You can subscribe to the Trend Alert by clicking here.) The material in this newsletter reinforced much of what was said in the AJC article. Older workers will be in demand and one place in particular that will be actively recruiting workers is the U. S. Federal government. According to the Trend Alert the AARP "...added three U.S. government agencies and six corporations to its list of employers looking to hire people 50 and older for a range of full-time, part-time, and seasonal jobs. In all, thirty-eight of the nation's employers have expressed an interest in hiring seniors." The Trend Alert further states that "The Internal Revenue Service, the Peace Corps, and the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Relief, are the first federal employers to join AARP's National Employer Team, the name given to the association's three-year-old partnership."

The numbers are pretty staggering. "Of the two million people who work for the federal government, more than 25 percent are expected to leave over the next five years. In the next two years alone, The Partnership for Public Service estimates over 193,000 mission-critical positions will need filling."

So, if you know someone who is looking for work I would send them to the Federal government or state governments, as I am sure they are in the same condition that the Fed is in.

Education and the Talent Shortage

Kiplinger.com published an article entitled "Employers Seek to Improve Education" in which they discuss something that HR managers have been aware of for quite awhile now and that is the U.S. educational system is just not making the grade. Businesses are suffering and are not able to hire the talent needed to effectively compete in the world market today. This lack of talent stemming from a lack of education is most visible in the areas of math, science, engineering and technology. But it is also there in language and communication skills as well as in critical thinking.

So what are businesses doing to address this shortfall of educated talent? They are pressuring governments at the federal, state and local level to improve. They are teaming with school systems to help develop curriculums. They are pressing presidential candidates for an educational platform. But alot of companies are pushing ahead on their own to provide incentives to professionals who would like to teach and incentives for students who would like to learn, especially science and math.

Because many companies are relying more and more on immigrant labor, both legal and illegal, companies are having to offer basic education in English and arithmetic and grammer in order to get willing workers to a level of being functional workers.

HR knows this is a problem, we see it day-in and day-out as our hiring managers push us to get them "quality" workers. But this is a battleship that will not be easily turned around.

Anyone have creative ways you are dealing with lack of education in your workforce? If so, leave a comment and let us know.

In Search of Excellence Turns 25

Almost 25 years ago managment guru Tom Peters published In Search of Excellence. This was a groundbreaking book and continues to be an important addition to anyone's business book library. I think I will reread to book to mark the occasion. However, noting the day is not the sole purpose of this blog. In a newsletter I received from Tom Peters the following paragraph caught my eye and I thought the all human resources professionals should pay heed.

"Our core belief, just like the best Professional Service Firms from whom we can all learn so much, is that "people excellence" is at the very core of future success. Achieving the "people-talent" mindset transformation is Job #1, and this is just as tough with the people inhabiting the Board Room as it is with the folks on the front line. The first indicator of a future winner is whether the leaders see their people as talent and see their prime function as being to position their talent in a context where they can create maximum value for the business. The leaders pass Excellence Test #1 when their front liners attest that they feel like talent - when they're at work, that is!"

Note what I put in bold face. Is your organization one that recognizes the importance of people as talent?

If yes ask yourself:

• How do we perpetuate this?
• How do we communicate this?

If the answer is no, ask yourself:

• How can we turn this around?
• How does this affect our position in the marketplace?
• How does this affect our ability to attract people?
• If I cannot impact this do I really want to continue to work here?

If you have never read In Search of Excellence I suggest you pick up a copy. And then become a Tom Peters fan.

Are You Ready for Gen X Managers?

An article in Chief Learning Officer describes research that shows there is a distinct skills gap between retiring Baby Boomer managers and the incoming Gen X managers. "New research by Personnel Decisions International (PDI) shows companies face a substantial employee skills shift, as 22.5 million baby boomers are on schedule to retire during the next 10 years, and company leadership transitions to Generation X managers (born between 1964 and 1979) who will bring a new, distinct skills set to the workplace."

The research study shows that "Baby boomers received higher ratings from their managers in 10 out of 18 competencies. They were nearly 18 percent more likely to be rated as “knowing the business” and 10 percent more likely to use technical or functional expertise on the job.
Baby boomers also rated substantially better in their ability to coach and develop and their ability to manage execution. On the other hand, Gen X managers are more likely to receive higher ratings in self-development, work commitment and analyzing issues than their older counterparts."

This means that companies need to do alot more managerial training. To prepare for this future you need to:

• Identify what skills sets your up and coming managers lack
• Structure training with existing managers to provide the Gen X'ers the exposure to the bigger picture skills
• Start thinking about how the company may need to restructure to take advantage of the collaborative approaches with collective buy-in that Gen X'ers use.

This is an opportunity for HR Managers to exercise their strategic skills and be proactive in the success of their companies. If you don't start doing it now the company will suffer in the future.