The skills crisis the UK is currently facing needs no introduction. Never before have there been so few candidates available across so many high impact job categories. The reasons behind today’s talent drought are complex and some sectors are affected more significantly than others.
The UK certain sectors are still feeling the exodus of EU workers post-Brexit that British candidates have been unable to fill. Additionally, there is the fact that many professionals retrained or switched sectors to find work during the pandemic. There has even been a rise in the number of early retirements post pandemic, as many reassess their priorities.
immerging skills in demand that employers are struggling to find suitable candidates for, with roles varying dramatically, but including AI, cybersecurity, automation, robotics, solar and wind turbine engineers, green energy based data analysists, and electric vehicle technicians.
New talent pools are needed
In many sectors and regions, there are insufficient talent pipelines and this has all contributed to the current crisis.
Many businesses are struggling to source staff because they are fishing for talent in the same small pond as their competitors.
We’re playing a zero-sum game. There are simply not enough quality candidates to go around in some job categories and, unless we think creatively, accessing sufficient skills will become increasingly challenging. There is an acute need to broaden horizons to find resources in this environment.
In order to do things in a better, more successful way, organizations must explore the potential of untapped talent pools and relax traditional selection criteria to open themselves up to a wealth of previously unexplored talent.
How can employers find untapped talent pools?
1) Widening talent pools by embracing diversity
There are entire groups of people who, for one reason or another, completely rule out certain career paths or find it difficult to access employment altogether. Archaic recruitment processes, outdated job specs, and even the channels used to communicate opportunities can all act as a barrier to applicants.
Specific sectors can unintentionally deter jobseekers depending on their gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Meanwhile, disabled talent, former military personnel, prison leavers, individuals returning to work after a career break, older professionals, and care leavers are just some of the groups who, statistically, find it more challenging to secure a role.
Actively seeking out individuals from these underrepresented groups will not only have a positive impact on the volume of jobseekers available, but also on the breadth, depth, outlook, and quality of your talent pools.
Unnecessary role requirements, your ability to upskill and retrain applicants, use of language and imagery on your landing page, and job ad placement all need to be reviewed and reconsidered. Get it right, and your reward will be access to a whole new world of quality candidates.
An experienced MSP or RPO provider is perfectly placed to support businesses in exploring and engaging with new talent pools as they reach beyond their conventional, ‘go to’ candidate personas.
2) How reassessing standard candidate personas can open new talent pools
It’s easy to become wedded to the idea of an ‘ideal’ candidate, and then only pursue individuals who fit this mould. However, this practice means you are discounting great talent, while simultaneously limiting inclusion.
One example is when the Very Group was known as Shop Direct, Guidant Global was responsible for its ‘All we need is you!’ recruitment campaign, which was centred on candidate personas. We researched the previous peak workforce to establish four key target audiences. Three of these reflected existing worker trends: Daytime Dave, Nightshift Nick, and Weekend Wasim.
The fourth persona, Female Farah, was designed to target a potential gap in applicant demographic and increase the number of female workers by challenging stereotype perceptions of a warehouse environment – and in turn, increase diversity. It worked: Applications, and applications from females specifically, increased significantly.
Reassessing candidate personas from what has ‘always been done’ will find new pools of talent and point you to how to attract them based on their priorities and outlooks.
3) Relaxing non-essential criteria to attract new talent
Relaxing non-essential criteria means that hirers can engage diverse talent and create opportunities for individuals who would otherwise face unnecessary barriers to work. For example, depending on the role, it may be suitable and practical to remove some pre-employment screening checks; or a search for criminal convictions if it does not apply to the work being performed.
Similarly, many job ads still require applicants to have a ‘full, clean, UK driving licence’ as standard even if driving is not a significant part of the role and if there are public transport options. This may automatically discount individuals with certain disabilities such as epilepsy, those who have been unable to afford to take driving lessons, or those who have moved from overseas.
Reviewing – and potentially removing – standard but perhaps unnecessary screening processes and criteria doesn’t just widen talent pools, it also provides a more succinct screening and onboarding process for all applicants, improving the candidate experience in the process.
enables employers to tap into a broader range of skills and experiences, ultimately expanding their access to diverse and innovative talent pools.
A stronger focus on transferable skills and traits can pay dividends. When people who can prove they have done the job are in short supply, why not search instead for those whose adaptability, proactivity, curiosity, or empathy suggests they could do the job?
How to build a talent pipeline for the future
Beyond filling gaps in the short term, talent acquisition professionals should also use the current skills crisis as an opportunity to explore how their organisation will access and develop talent in the long term. It is important to ask, ‘who would be interested in working for us?’ rather than ‘who’s ‘perfectly’ qualified right now?’ as the need to move beyond job-ready hiring increases.
The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 indicates significant job disruption and transformation in the coming years due to technology and other macrotrends. The report predicts that by 2030, 92 million jobs will be displaced, but that 170 million new jobs will be created – this means a net increase of 78 million jobs globally.
With this in mind, talent leaders would be wise to consider hiring for core competencies such as resilience and innovation – and then upskilling their people accordingly – in order to be prepared for future shortages.
As Henry Ford famously said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” With a limited number of quality candidates in the talent pool, chasing the same individuals as your competitors is unlikely to be an effective way to secure much-needed skills.
However, by taking a fresh look at what you really need from your people – and widening talent pools as a result – you will be able to access a rich source of previously untapped talent.
workforce planning and tap into new talent pools?
Contact Guidant Global today to discover how our talent acquisition and retention expertise can help your organisation access diverse, innovative candidates and secure the skills you need for the future.
