Thu, 25 August 2016 | By Graham Simons

FROM SEPTEMBER'S RECRUITER MAGAZINE

Claims of a ‘war for talent’ mask the fact that recruiters and employers too often don’t recognise talent when they see it, suggests a leading in-house recruiter in the construction and support services industries.

As part of broadening their views of ‘talent’, recruiters should cast their nets to catch talent among graduates that missed out on top degrees, as well as people from sectors outside their company’s area of specialism.

According to Jon Hull, head of resourcing at Carillion, the UK’s current demographics have worked against the construction and support services firm. He explained that UK engineering is suffering from too few women studying STEM (science, technical, engineering and mathematics) subjects and not enough graduates gaining top degrees. 

Hull was speaking on In-House Recruiter’s recent inaugural webinar, ‘Dive deep and spread your net wide’, hosted with jobs and recruiting marketplace Glassdoor. Consequently, Hull questions why employers would limit their search to graduates with top degrees, potentially leaving two-thirds of graduates without a graduate role, when there are currently plenty of vacancies they could fill successfully.

Hull said: “Really, a degree grade is just a snapshot moment. My view is that there isn’t really a war for talent – we just don’t know how to spot it when we see it.” And it doesn’t help that a high percentage of engineering graduates do not end up choosing a career in engineering, with female engineers in particular opting for accountancy or law, Hull added.

But one sector’s loss can be another’s gain, says Robert Stone, head of talent at marketing and communications agency McCann World Group, who was also speaking during the webinar.

Stone argues that in order to create a truly diverse skill set among the workforce, businesses need to stop hiring directly from competitors and start hiring candidates with more transferable skills, with the Metropolitan Police proving a fruitful hunting ground for McCann.

“Most people find that… really strange because we’re a creative and communications agency,” Stone says.

“However, you would be surprised how many transferable skills actually apply to some of our different disciplines like project management and service teams from people that have actually worked in
the Metropolitan Police.”

To download the webinar, go to: http://bit.ly/2aM7gJr
 

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