Global Skills Shortage

The preliminary results are in for the fourth annual SME Survey, which sets out to evaluate factors that influence the competitiveness of small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. The survey determined:

• 75% of SMEs want better skills and expertise
• only 37% of respondents said that they were very satisfied with the availability of skills and expertise

Africa News, June 18, 2006

The tight skills market is tipped to get tighter, according to survey findings of the Diversiti IT Hiring Influence Report 2006. Endorsed by CompTIA, Queensland University of Technology and Accenture, the report revealed:

• 78% of respondents identified the global competition for skilled information technology resources as the factor that would have the greatest impact on availability of IT labour in Australia over the next 12 months
• almost 70 per cent of respondents also believe that retaining talent will be their biggest hiring challenge in the next 12 months
• closely followed by recruiting the right skill set (63%) and
• a shortage of skilled candidates (61%).

The Courier Mail (Australia), June 17, 2006

The Israeli Government is trying to stop the brain drain with a new $45 million fund for research and technology. Fifty percent of Israel's scientists have left for other countries, where there are better opportunities to advance in their field.

IsraelNationalNews.com, June 15, 2006

Forty-nine percent of CEOs of privately held, fast-growing American manufacturing and service companies foresee a shortage of qualified workers as a potential barrier to business growth during the next 12 months, reports PricewaterhouseCoopers in a new industry report.

PricewaterhouseCoopers interviewed 312 top executives for this report. The companies the CEOs head range in size from about $5 million to $150 million in annual revenue or sales.

Reliable Plant Magazine, June 12, 2006