This article gives a nice micro perspective on the Oregon job market and some of the challenges that employers are finding during their respective talent searches. I think it highlights the disparity between the number of open jobs and “qualified” job seekers. I often talk to candidates about some of these same challenges as it can be a double edged sword. Employers are currently often looking for very specific skill-sets that make it tough for them to find talent. This also typically narrows the candidate pool dramatically. Gone are the days where an employer was willing to do on the job training. While there are still a handful of companies that are willing to take on this much needed task of training today’s youths for
tomorrow’s jobs what we are finding is an increasingly narrow view of what a qualified candidate looks like for a given job. On the flip side, candidates are finding it harder to get these qualifications given the abandonment of training that is happening in a lot of organizations today. The latter comment especially applies to the young workforce and recent grads that come into the market without any hands-on experience. This is reflected in the much higher numbers and trends of unemployment in the 18-26 age groups.
This article gives a nice micro perspective on the Oregon job market and some of the challenges that employers are finding during their respective talent searches. I think it highlights the disparity between the number of open jobs and “qualified” job seekers. I often talk to candidates about some of these same challenges as it can be a double edged sword. Employers are currently often looking for very specific skill-sets that make it tough for them to find talent. This also typically narrows the candidate pool dramatically. Gone are the days where an employer was willing to do on the job training. While there are still a handful of companies that are willing to take on this much needed task of training today’s youths for tomorrow’s jobs what we are finding is an increasingly narrow view of what a qualified candidate looks like for a given job. On the flip side, candidates are finding it harder to get these qualifications given the abandonment of training that is happening in a lot of organizations today. The latter comment especially applies to the young workforce and recent grads that come into the market without any hands-on experience. This is reflected in the much higher numbers and trends of unemployment in the 18-26 age groups.