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Feb.
21--Forty-four percent of American employers say they
can't find the talent to fill their staffing needs, according
to a survey that Manpower Inc. released today along with
a new branding campaign. |
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The
Glendale staffing company interviewed 33,000 employers
in 23 countries and territories, including 1,275 in the
United States, and found that 40% of the respondents worldwide
reported skill shortages -- ranging from 78% in Mexico,
66% in Canada and 58% in Japan, all the way down to 13%
in India. |
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"We
knew this was coming. This is nothing new," said Jeff
Joerres, president, chief executive officer and chairman
of Manpower. |
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Demographics
and a shift in the skills and training needed for many
jobs are combining to force more employers to figure out
how they can get the workers they need or get the work
done through technology or sending the work elsewhere. |
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"It's something
we have to grow accustomed to and learn how to deal with,"
Joerres said of skill shortages. |
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"I think everybody's
aware of it, but these are long-term problems." |
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More support
for education and vocational technical education is one
way to address shortages, said Joerres, who was at Bradley
Tech High School in Milwaukee for Mayor Tom Barrett's
"state of the city" address. |
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Joerres also
was on hand for President Bush's visit to Johnson Controls
Inc., for which Joerres is a director. |
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Manpower's report
on talent shortages comes as the company brandishes a
new logo and marketing campaign to better reflect how
the company has evolved over its 58 years, Joerres said. |
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The campaign
has taken two years, included at least five hours of training
for each of Manpower's 30,000 employees worldwide, and
cost more than $10 million, Joerres said. That cost is
in addition to the $50 million a year that Manpower spends
on advertising, which is about to go up 30% a year. |
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The change is
aimed at updating Manpower's image as a place for employers
to turn with their staffing questions. |
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Manpower began
in 1948 when a couple of Milwaukee lawyers found themselves
shorthanded on secretarial help and decided to start a
business hiring out workers for temporary placements. |
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They became pioneers
of the temporary help industry, which last month employed
more than 2.6 million Americans, according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics. |
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Today, Manpower
-- still the nation's largest staffing supplier -- has
$16 billion in yearly revenue from 400,000 clients and
4,400 offices in 72 countries. |
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In recent years,
Manpower has fashioned itself as a provider of a full
range of employment services, helping employers recruit,
assess, select and train employees, as well as counsel
and redirect those workers whose jobs are completed. |
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As part of its
makeover, Manpower has consolidated more than 200 brand
names around the world into five: Manpower, Manpower Professional,
Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. |
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Dean Amhaus,
president of Spirit of Milwaukee Inc., a non-profit civic
marketing group, said Manpower's report on talent gaps
is another example of how the company has built a reputation
for itself as an authority on employment |
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"They are
seen as the experts in employment around the country and
around the world," Amhaus said. |
