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The skills gap has been the subject of many discussions among human resources professionals in the last several years. What is it and how does it affect your business? As you search for the right candidate for your open position you may find that you are interviewing candidates who are both under and over qualified for the role you need to fill. This lack of the exact right candidate is causing jobs to go unfilled or, worse yet, allowing for unqualified individuals who can’t handle the job in the long term to be hired.

4 Ways to Overcome the Skills Gap

  • Under-qualified candidates. Individuals who may have the education but lack the job experience are typically considered under-qualified. Sometimes these candidates have potential to develop into excellent employees in the long term. Depending on the situation you may wish to consider an under-qualified candidate for a role where training is available.
  • Overqualified candidates. During the recession many skilled individuals found themselves without work due to unforeseen layoffs. These professionals had trouble finding new jobs as they were often considered overqualified for the entry level jobs that were available in the new economy. Companies often feared these candidates would leave the job as soon as a better one came along. However, investing in an overqualified candidate may be a great way to enhance innovation.
  • The right salary range. Some experts believe the skills gap is not at all related to the available experience of candidates. The theory is, since economic recovery began to climb, businesses were still hesitant to pay a fair salary to incoming employees. The skilled employees were refusing these jobs and only unskilled workers remained in the available market. Before making a hiring decision conduct research on the salary ranges common in your area for each job.
  • Temp to hire or direct hire. Working with a strategic staffing partner can be a great solution for navigating the murky waters of hiring. Recruiters specialize in sourcing and prescreening candidates for a variety of positions. A staffing provider can help you with short term placements for projects or long term and temp to hire placements so you can work with a new employee before deciding to hire them directly.

Are you looking for your next superstar employee? Anserteam Workforce Solutions, Staffing Agency in North America can help you today!