Global labour force lacks right skills to support business

Mannheim (ots) -

- Causes of unemployment go beyond state of economy, says new
report from Hays plc
- Unemployment and unfilled vacancies rising across global markets
- Global education systems failing to deliver requisite skills and
talent to employers

The global economy is facing a severe talent mismatch with 18 out
of 30 leading economies facing some form of skills shortages while
both unemployment levels and numbers of unfilled vacancies are
rising. In many markets, the labour available does not meet the skill
requirements that employers are looking for.

The depth of the recent recession does not explain the root causes
of unemployment or why the job market fails to deliver the skills
businesses need. Countries suffering from an underperforming economy
such as Spain are no more likely to be able to provide workers with
the skills necessary than economies which are performing strongly.

These are the findings of the Hays Global Skills Index 2013, a
report published today by Hays plc, the leading global professional
recruiting group, produced in collaboration with Oxford Economics.
The report, titled 'The Great Talent Mismatch' and based on an
analysis of professional employment markets across 30 major global
economies, highlights the extent to which businesses and governments
have to work together to build the right skills pipeline to deliver a
sustainable recovery and growth.

The problem of talent mismatch spans several continents. The
situation is particularly serious in the US, struggling with a
jobless recovery; Spain, Portugal and Ireland, all badly affected by
the Eurozone crisis; Japan, struggling with a generation of economic
stagnation and deflation, and the UK where the current economic
recovery is exposing a lack of skills across multiple industries.

Sentiment is improving across a number of markets, but action from
both government and the business community is required to address on-
going skills shortages by allowing skilled labour markets to operate
more flexibly, aligning education policy far more closely with
economic needs and ensuring the widest possible group of skilled
workers across all generations are participating in the labour
market.

Hays' Chief Executive Alistair Cox said: "The Hays Global Skills
Index highlights a major paradox in the world's skilled labour
markets. Employers across the globe are struggling to find enough
people with the right set of skills for the posts they have
available, even as millions of people remain unemployed. It is too
easy to lay the blame for unemployment at the door of the global
recession. The fact is, there is more that governments and businesses
can and should do in order to develop the right talent pipeline and
assure their future prosperity.

"The supply of people with the right skills is the foundation for
every successful organisation and finding the right person for a job
can transform businesses, people's lives and make societies stronger.
There are no easy answers to fixing today's problems in the world's
skilled labour markets. However, we believe the principles outlined
in our recommendations are relevant across the globe and should
enable real progress towards addressing structural problems within
international labour markets. Each and every one of us will reap
significant benefits from this in the long-term."

Hays Global Skills Index key findings:

- There is no clear link between economic performance of a
country and the efficiency of its labour markets. Employment
policies and educational policies, not economic conditions are
the keys to tackling the global talent mismatch
- Few countries have educational systems that deliver the skills
required to provide employers with the skills they need
- Most countries have inflexible supplies of labour, indicating
key groups of working age are not participating in the labour
market
- Developing economies such as China and India have highly
flexible workforces, but inflexible educational systems in
these countries mean skills provision through education is
unlikely to adapt effectively to changing economic conditions
- In most countries, skilled labour markets have tightened over
the past year.

Notes on methodology The Hays Global Skills Index creates a score
for each country of between 0 and 10 to measure the constraints and
frictions being faced by its market for skilled labour. This is
calculated through an analysis of seven components, covering areas
such as education levels, labour market flexibility, and high-skill
wage pressures.

A score above the mid-point of 5.0 suggests that employers are
witnessing difficulties finding the key skills they need and are
suffering market friction, whilst a score below 5.0 indicates a lax
labour market in which there are no major constraints on the supply
of skilled labour. Within these overall scores however, the scores
attributed to each of the seven components can vary significantly,
highlighting the different dynamics and pressures faced by each
country.

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting
group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional
and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and
Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and
Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public
sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary
assignments. As at 30 June 2013 the Group employed 7,840 staff
operating from 239 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For
the year ended 30 June 2013:

- the Group reported net fees of £719 million and operating profit
(pre-exceptional items) of £125.5 million;
- the Group placed around 53,000 candidates into permanent jobs
and around 182,000 people into temporary assignments;
- 29% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 40% in
Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 31% in the United Kingdom &
Ireland;
- the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and
the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
- Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the US

Pressekontakt:
Frank Schabel
Tel.: 0621 1788 1140
E-Mail: frank.schabel@hays.de