Even with unemployment high, lots of good jobs are going unfilled today because of a widening skill gap in America. Staffing companies are in an ideal position to bridge that gap.
There are staffing firms that create solutions to train and re-tool workers to meet skill demands for their clients. Those firms have a huge competitive advantage in the marketplace.
However, it takes real reinvention, innovation, creativity, and above all, stepping out of our comfort zones as simple “providers of temporary help” in order to get to that place.
The big winners in staffing in the next 20 years – and beyond – will stop babbling about “sticking to their core competencies” and instead consult with their clients to help fill jobs in the highest demand.
Need evidence this is a winning strategy? Try this factoid on for size. Sixty-six percent of the firms on Staffing Industry Analysts 2011 list of fastest-growing companies are IT shops. Shocker, I know.
Okay, so you already know IT and healthcare are hot now, and will be for the foreseeable future. And if your firm isn’t providing these skills today, you’ve probably also already figured out you’re leaving money on the table.
What’s a staffing pro to do? Just go out and find a bunch of java developers and .NET programmers, fill lots of open reqs and then go to the bank and count all your money.
It’s not quite as simple and easy as that, is it? Techies and nurses with just the right experience and skill sets are hard to find.
Create your own sources! Partner with a trade school that’s training people in high-demand skills with the promise of employment upon graduation.
One of my clients is doing just that, in fact. The firm sought out a junior college that trained Certified Nurse Assistants, and then entered into an arrangement to recruit and screen viable candidates, fill the classes, and guarantee graduates jobs as soon as they are certified.
Still in its infancy, the partnership is off to a great start. Every single member of the inaugural CNA class had job offers before they finished the program.
Now, you may be tempted to dismiss this concept with the statement, “We’re not a training company, we’re a recruiting and staffing company.” I get that sentiment. After all, it’s what we’ve all been taught over the years.
However, if the world is shouting at you that “we need java developers and nurses” and your staffing company’s reply is silence, you will be left behind as your competitors figure out the answer.
