by MARILYN GEEWAX, NPR
At any gathering of business owners, you're likely to hear
about how hard it is to fill jobs because of a "skills gap."
Lots of employers say they want to hire welders, software
engineers, nurses, oil-field workers and so many others, but can't find
applicants with the right talents and education.
But Peter
Cappelli, a professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's
Wharton School and director of its Center for Human Resources, says these
complaints are largely bunk.
Rather than continue to whine, employers might ask
themselves whether it might pay "to perhaps provide some training?" Capelli
told Tell Me More, host Michel Martin today.
Cappelli recently published Why Good People Can't Get Jobs.
He argues that employers should stop blaming the educational system, and start
rethinking their hiring practices.
He notes that ManpowerGroup, the staffing company, says more
than half of employers surveyed say they are having difficulty filling
positions because of skills shortages. But the real problem is, he argues, is
that they are searching for the perfect candidate.
Cappelli concedes that in light of the nation's high
unemployment rate (8.2
percent in May), "it's not surprising employers are picky." They
get so many applications that they have computerized the screening process, and
search only for key words, such as "Ph.D" or years of experience.
"It's yes-no-yes-no. Did you clear the hurdle?," he said.
Also, application forms typically ask job seekers to name
the wages they want. "If you guess too high, you get kicked out" of
the automated screening process, even though you might be open to a lower wage,
he said.
Unless you can describe your skills to perfectly match
exactly what the computer software has been set to find, "your application
will get kicked out," he said.
In the end, when an employer simply cannot find anyone to
fill a job, he should stop blaming the applicants and recognize: "You're
just not paying enough," Cappelli said.
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