As we begin to emerge from the clutches of the Covid 19 Pandemic, the business community in Northern Ireland face a plethora of challenges if they want to remain above water, let alone experience growth. Not least of which is the imminent recession predicted to be the sharpest economic downturn on record.
However the talent shortage faced by many of our most prominent industries, such as ICT, agri-food and digital media, continues to glare at employers as it did before the crisis. While a surge in unemployment and many more employees in the limbo land of the CJRS may seem to suggest that the talent acquisition tables have somewhat turned, reviewing these figures as a whole will be largely misleading.
Although sectors such as hospitality and retail, going forward, may find themselves spoilt for choice when it comes to recruiting in certain roles For companies engaging in areas such as software development, food production or digital marketing (and of course, this list is not exhaustive) the gaping hole in the talent market will leave them yearning more than it ever has. At a time when they are wanting to aggressively pursue their growth objectives, they may just lack the manpower to fully implement an impactful strategy and fulfil client demands.
Alongside the business community, education is experiencing a transformation of its own. The landscape of the learning environment for school-aged children has advanced much during recent years (and more quickly in recent months) in some respects, such as the potential to use Virtual Reality devices to broaden their horizons and even video conferencing.
However, the way in which we address the skills gap within the classroom is far from progressive. While schools and colleges grapple to increase provisions for students to study in subjects like Computer Science and Software engineering, and drive women into STEM careers, the business community is left with talent who are ten years their senior, having been encouraged to become lawyers and accountants. A career path so oversubscribed, that in global organisations is largely reserved for those of an Oxbridge background.
While our educators and young people continue to look to the present rather than to the future to shape their decisions around learning and upskilling. We are faced with the very real possibility that school leavers (and indeed graduates) of the future will emerge from the education system ill-equipped for the industry they intend to enter. Or, at least the one which has enough open roles! As a result our economy may be faced with a similar situation to the one it faces today. High unemployment in certain areas and a vast talent shortage in others.
As we prepare Computer Scientists, Software Developers and Engineers of the future, where they will actually be needed when they graduate into our economy.
Photo by geralt is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
Ellie is founder of Nepturnal Ltd, a management consultancy dedicated to improving how businesses manage people. Her main interests are business and the economy.
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