In 2018, 52% of employers felt that there was a skills gap in candidates applying for positions at their company. In other words, that they have difficulty filling openings at their organization because the candidates lack technical and “hard” job skills.
Yet, of these same organizations, only 28% are growing their staff training and development programs.
In other words, employers are looking for people who have all of the skills they need the moment they walk in for the interview. They don’t want to invest in providing training that could transform an “unskilled” candidate into the perfect candidate.
This is unfortunate, both for our nation’s companies and our nation’s economy.
How? Here are just a few ways that having training and development programs in place could dramatically change the way these organizations function:
- Companies could hire individuals based on passion, not a checklist of skills. You can teach skills, but you can never make a dispassionate person enthusiastic.
- Employees would understand how their job is important to the overall organization
- The practices of the company would become standardized and more aligned across the company as information is passed down to each new generation of employees
- Expectations would be clear from the day the employee starts and there would be fewer miscommunication struggles
- New employees would have access to lessons learned by senior employees, who can share years of history, experience, and wisdom
- Employees would enter the company knowing they have a learning curve ahead of them, and they would be more prepared to work hard from day one, as opposed to assuming they already know all the answers and can continue doing what they’ve always done
Talent is a myth, and hard work and passion will always supersede natural ability. Invest in training, and let passion be the measuring stick for your candidates.
So tell me: talent or training? Where are you putting your money?
As a speaker and author, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people with his life-changing messages and award-winning programs. Curtis is an expert at transforming organizations by inspiring individuals to live their lives at performance level.
Want to be inspired? Check out his podcast The Next 24 Hours.
