The Untapped Workforce
In a tight skills market where competition for talent is high, businesses are looking further and wider to access the people they need to fill the gaps in their workforce.
Fishing in other industries for transferable skills may seem an appealing option, but there’s already a queue of organisations chasing the same pool of people with the latest technical ability and knowledge.
However, there is another source of talent you may not have considered. They’re hiding in plain sight and are frequently overlooked – the Untapped Workforce.
This is a significant pool of jobseekers that could provide a source of talent to fill your skills gap, and it includes three distinct groups of people; the Returners, the Restarters, and the Reinvigorators.
In our first blog we’re going to focus on The Returners; people ready to come back from a career break.
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The Returners
There are a multitude of reasons why someone may take a career break. Commonly the one we think of first is parents returning from looking after their newborns, or returning to the workplace once the kids have started school.
But there are also those who had a period of absence due to a long-term illness, those who remain in the workforce but have stepped into a lower-grade role, or those who changed industries or disciplines and are returning to their original vocation.
Often, the break on their CV can be off-putting to hiring managers, who might believe that without recent industry experience or with skills they have not practised for some time, they would struggle to pick up a new role. However, there are many benefits to hiring from this group that you may not have considered.
More mature candidates not only have previous workplace experience but also have experiences and skills that have developed as a result of facing life’s challenges, such as coping skills, resilience, financial management, prioritisation, and other practical skills that can make them a valuable asset in any work environment.
Those who have raised their families will likely be settled in the area they want to remain in, with kids in school and will potentially be looking for a longer-term commitment than someone earlier in their career, who may not yet have decided exactly what they want to do.
Someone who took a step down or changed industries may well have done so rather than face redundancy, or in order to fulfill a temporary personal obligation, and so will have always had in mind that they wanted to step back up again eventually and may have consequently kept themselves up to speed to make that transition smoother.
Often, returners are actively searching the market, ready to start immediately with no notice period to serve. They are choosing to come back to the work environment, enthusiastic and keen. They could be a breath of fresh air in the right team.
Those actively seeking to get back into the workplace often have been preparing themselves by updating skills and knowledge in their industry through research and short courses. With additional training from the hiring organisation, they could be just the asset the business needs. The right person is worth the training investment.
A useful exercise for companies recruiting returners is ensuring interview tasks are set to gauge specific skill levels. Considerable thought should be given to these, as they could be the deciding factor between one candidate and another.
When you take on a returner, the chances are you are putting your faith in someone who is truly excited about their new role, someone who is fresh and ready for a challenge. Enthusiasm and motivation are infectious, and can easily spread across your team, which can in turn raise productivity across the whole department.
Don’t dismiss someone with a large gap in their CV, as they may have plenty to offer.
For more information on sourcing new pools of talent, take a look at what our Intelligence team can offer.
