Job prospects are rising in Latin America, but is there talent available? | MBA and Executive Education | Master of Business Administration and Executive Education

Although Latin American countries are making progress in vaccinating their populations, there is still uncertainty in markets and among citizens. In addition, according to IMF estimates, a slight rebound in growth is expected to 3.7%. However, employers are generally optimistic that they will expand their employee numbers during the year.

to me Employment Outlook Survey For the second quarter of 2021, prepared by the Manpower Group, Latin American employers are expecting increases in their employment prospects during the year. Says Luis Guastini, CEO of ManpowerGroup Argentina.

According to the report, employment expectations have been maintained and increased in the countries of the region. This is how Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Argentina got the highest scores. As for the recovery of expectations that were before the epidemic, it is still far from that.

Globally, employers in 31 of the 43 countries surveyed expect to increase the number of their employees by the next quarter. The highest expectations were found in Taiwan, the United States, Australia and Singapore, while the weakest forecasts were in Panama, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

Guastini notes that “we notice that expectations are generally related to what companies think about what will happen with their specific activity and not so much with the development of the epidemic itself. In general, the decision factor as to whether or not to integrate more employees is related to how the economy will develop in general. The impact of the epidemic on employment is linked to a greater degree with isolation measures that prevent companies from operating normally. ”

Lack of talent

There is no doubt that the epidemic has accelerated the plans for digital transformation in organizations, which is why they are now seeking to cement these transformations through innovation. This approach has increased the demand for certain profiles such as cybersecurity professionals, artificial intelligence, and data analysts, among others.

The bad news is that despite this need, there is not enough talent in the region. The Global Talent Shortage Survey 2020 By Manpower, published annually, shows how the talent shortage is growing globally. From 2015 to 2019, there was an increase of 16%, with a larger gap between 2018 and 2019, from 45% to 54%. In 2019, 82% of countries, or 36 out of 44 countries, reported a shortage of trained professionals. In contrast, Slovenia, Sweden, Finland, Hungary and the United States recorded the largest increase compared to 2018.

Many companies developing processes for innovation, digitization and restructuring require technological and professional profiles with specific technical skills and interpersonal skills such as creativity, empathy, willingness to learn, adaptability, and customer orientation, among others.

Regarding this deficiency, Guastini explains that it does not mean that there is full employment or that there are no people looking for work, but that “there is no match between the technical and professional skills that companies require and those of those who are looking for work.”

The Robert Half’s Salary Guide for 2021 It reveals that the most needed skills henceforth will be interpersonal communication, adaptability, leadership, and self-management. The main sectors that will require more employees are technology, basic services, and online sales.

Due to the digital transformation of work, some jobs are shifting from emergence to consolidation, as companies need them more and more. Within this scope are developers, project managers, and digital managers. For the most in-demand temporary jobs in the sector, there are SAP consultants, cybersecurity specialists, as well as project managers and developers.

In sales, the most sought-after permanent roles are e-commerce managers, commercial managers, sales managers, e-commerce professionals, and business intelligence analyst. Their required skills are: data analysis, English language, digital literacy and remote team management.

What to do

To overcome the shortage of human resources, numerous programs between the public and private sectors are being implemented in many countries of the region. Companies are also implementing skills upgrading and reshaping initiatives to improve the skills of the employees they already have.

Another option is to hire global talent, but there are difficulties in obtaining and paying for it, because when trying to raise it from another company, a higher salary is usually offered.

Another formula is an agreement to exchange employees between different companies so that there is an influx of talent. We’ve seen it a lot in Argentina during the pandemic. There were companies that had valuable talent, were in isolation and couldn’t operate, so they had agreements with companies that could, ”Guastini says.

Although this brings clear benefits to companies, it is also positive for workers who have grown up with this experience and are augmented with other skills.

Outsourcing and adopting flexible plans is another way to find global corporate talent.

In this way, there are many formulas for training workers or retransferring the many people professionally looking for opportunities in the sectors with the highest demand for employees.