Five Links: Skills Shortage – Skills Gap

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Five Links: Skills Shortage – Skills Gap

Topics: Big Data, Futures, Generational Demographics, HR Technology, HR Trends, HRExaminer, John Sumser, Skills Gap, by John Sumser

If you’re following the emerging skills gap story, it has a lot of facets. Here are several.

Five Links: Skills Shortage / Skills Gap

If you’re following the emerging skills gap story, it has a lot of facets. Here are several. The terrain includes a consultant, an online community, college, a study and an analysis.

Hays Global Skills Index 2012
The index ranks what used to be called first world countries by the competitive intensity of thier labor markets. The average score is a 5.1 which indicates vulnerability to shortages if economic growth increases.
Kaggle
Wnat to find Data Scientists? Kaggle claims to have 65,000 participating in competitions. Kaggle is an arena where you can match your data science skills against a global cadre of experts in statistics, mathematics, and machine learning. It’s also a platform for data prediction competitions that allows organizations to post their data and have it scrutinized by the world’s best data scientists. In exchange for a prize, winning competitors provide the algorithms that beat all other methods of solving a data crunching problem. Most data problems can be framed as a competition.
The News So Far: A Maler Older Workforce
“The participation rate of men is still higher than that of women, at 70.3% in October. But it has been falling long-term, causing pretty consistent overprojections by the bureau. Even the “low” estimate in its November 1993 projection for male participation in 2005 proved too high. Especially disconcerting is the long-term decline in the participation rate of prime-aged men, 25 to 54, from an average of 97% through the 1950s and early-’60s, to 88.7% in October. But there’s no compelling reason to assume the trend is incapable of reversing.”
Saying No To College
One of the most disturbing trends is the faddish notion that not getting a college degree is somehow a smart choice. This piece weilding a half dozen stories of programmers who dropped out to become the next Gates, Jobs or Zuckerberg. This meme would be more useful if it said “if college is really, really easy for you, consider quitting. If it’s pretty hard, stick with it.” If you want to be Bill GAtes, have a mother who can influence your most important contract and a rich lawyer for a dad. If you want to be Steve Jobs, be prepared to spend a lot of really uncomfortable time searching for meaning in poor partts of India. Also see Forgoing College to Pusue Dreams (about the Thiel Fellowships that pay really smart kids to avoid college)
Skills Gap: No Big Deal If…
A Boston Consulting Group gure (they’re the people who brought you the 2×2 matrix) sez that the skills gap will become a problem when the boomers retire. It’s an idea straigh out of the mid 90s.

Don’t Miss

The Skills Gap Webinar
A recording of the Risesmart sponsored webinar from earlier this fall.

About the author

John Sumser

John Sumser is a principal analyst for HRExaminer, an independent analyst firm covering HR Technology and the intersection of people, tech, and work. John’s mix of experience over the course of his career gives him a broad and unique perspective on the industry. Like anyone trying to process a lot of information, he is two or three steps ahead in some areas and still learning about others. Sumser’s work includes deep research into the nooks and crannies of HR Technology to identify and explain rapidly evolving trends. Built on a foundation of engineering, design, and philosophy, John’s seeks to understand and advise clients on where their technology works best, for whom, and in what context. Each year, John examines the insides of hundreds of companies, their products, and ecosystems. He delivers vendor analysis by building the framework from which to deliver the critique. He is constantly connecting and making visible the front end of change. He can help you see the path of evolution and the risks on the journey. The HRExaminer is Sumser’s vehicle for understanding and explaining the inner workings of the industry. With three weekly podcasts, and written commentary, he covers emerging ideas, the state of the industry, and the executives who operate it.

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