Mind the skills gap

In case you haven't noticed, we've got a skills gap in the UK, and it ain't getting better anytime soon!

When something's in demand, things can get a little crazy – remember that time you barged nana out the way to grab the last half-price telly in the Black Friday sales?

You don't want that look for your business. So, it's time to get smart!

What's all this skills gap malarkey!?

There just aren't enough folks with the right skills to go around right now. But, the shortage has hit some worse than others.

The businesses who're really smarting right now are the ones with vacancies for jobs that need STEM skills or qualifications.

Engineers (of all stripes) are top of the pile when it comes to skills demand. Engineering UK reckon we'll need 1.8m extra engineers and other techies by 2025, but that we're 20,000 short of churning out the annual rate we need to meet this figure.

It's not just engineers, though. Banks, shops, factories and hospitals are all struggling keep skills in all the right places.

You're probably asking how we got into this mess. Well, it's partly to do with an education system that's over the hill (to put it kindly). Another factor is *CONTROVERSY ALERT* Brexit, which already looks like it's making things worse.

Can recruitment tech keep me on track?

You're damn right it can! Tech is a recruiter's best bud, after all. Here are just a few of the ways that recruitment tech can help you sew up that skills gap:

Get to the front of the queue

By taking a techy tack, you can post your job ad instantly across all job sites and social media platforms.

Search for candidates across all job boards in seconds to make sure you're first in line when new folks enter the market.

Better still, use recruitment tech to keep an open dialogue going with the best in your biz. They might be passive now – but, you never know when they might start looking.

Create an employer brand that's to die for

Get that employer branding nailed and share your story across your career microsite and social media channels.

Tell potential newbies how awesome it is to work at your place – what you value and what your culture's like.

And, make sure the recruitment process is an absolute joy. Set up automated emails or messages to keep candidates in the loop all the way through. And, open yourself up to chat on social media whenever you're needed.

Keep your standards high!

When things are moving super-fast, you'll need something to keep your standards up.

Start with a great big wadge of candidate analytics. This'll tell you all about those secret recipes your best hires have had in the past.

Then, add a healthy dash of candidate screening. The ingredients for this include everything from CV/cover letter screening to competency and personality testing.

So, what're you waiting for? If you're gonna keep that skills gap well and truly plugged, you'll need to get that recruitment tech game on point.