When organizations are employing new workers, they aim at getting individuals who have the necessary skill that are needed in their organizations. One of the competencies of the job applicants is the skills that they posses. However, in most cases the new employees may lack some of the skills that the employers may be seeking from them. The difference between the skills that the organizations need and the skills that the employees possess is the skills gap. This research paper will discuss skills gapping and how it is applied in organizations such as health care organizations (Nakayama, 2001).
Skills gapping involve evaluating the skills that the employees in an organization possess and then comparing these skills with the requirements of the organization. The difference is noted so that the organization plans on how the gap is to be reduced. For the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives, the employees should have the needed skills.
Even though some employees are employed without the needed skills, some skills may be required by an organization due some changes in the organization. For example, advancement in technology may require the employees to seek additional skills.
The first step in skills gapping involves evaluating the skills that the employees possess. Interviews, achievement of goals set for the employees and group discussions can be used to evaluate the skills of the employees.
The goals that are set by the organizations help to predict the skills that the organizations need. When the required skills are identified, a comparison is made to determine whether these skills are available in the organization. When the difference is identified, the organization put in place measures to reduce the gap. The organization comes up with a training program aimed at ensuring that the employees get the needed skills.
In the provision of healthcare services, skills gapping are an important aspect that the health care managers should consider. In the first place, the healthcare sector faces a challenge in that many of the graduates who seek employment from this sector lack the necessary skills of performing their duties. However, employing this group of individuals has to be done since the demand for the healthcare services continues to increase. In addition, hiring healthcare specialists are expensive. Therefore, the best solution is to set aside some cash so that the new employees can receive the necessary training. These new employees need to be exposed to the environment they are supposed to work in so that they can familiarize with their jobs in addition to acquiring the skills needed in their field.
The services that are needed in the healthcare environment keep on changing from time to time. This is because new diseases arise and also, new technology is invented to deal with the existing diseases (ASTD Public Policy Council, 2006). Therefore the healthcare employees need to learn the new technologies of dealing with the diseases. There is also pressure of provision of quality services in the health centers. Therefore, healthcare managers need to ensure that their employees are well equipped with the necessary skills to provide quality services to the customers. In this regard, the healthcare managers need to put in place training programs for the existing employees so that they can improve their efficiency in the provision of services to the patients to ensure their satisfaction.
Many governments allocate their resources to ensure that the healthcare centers provide quality services. However, these centers are characterized by ineffectiveness and inefficiencies. The government sets the goals and objectives that they wish to be accomplished. To achieve these objectives, certain skills are needed. The healthcare managers should be able to identify the skills absent in their healthcare centers (Gordon, 1991). These managers then should make sure that these skills are available to the employees through training so that the objectives set by the policymakers of the government are achieved.
I have witnessed skills gapping in the organization that I work in. An example is a time when the organization needed some additional employees to cope up with the increasing workload that was present in the organization. After the advertisement, the management found out that the skills that they were seeking form the applicants were not present. However, they had no other option and therefore they had to employ these individuals regardless of the fact that they lacked the skills that were needed.
After the new candidates were selected, they were taken for training to equip them with the skills that the organization required. Even though these employees were graduates, they had to be trained to acquire the skills that the organization required. After the training, these employees are required to familiarize with the working environment to familiarize with their responsibilities.
It can be argued that skills gapping are an important thing in any organization to ensure that the visions of that organization are achieved. Therefore it is important to match the skills needed in the organization with the skills that the employees have (Gordon, 1991). Therefore when new employees are hired, they require undergoing training so that they can acquire the needed skills. In addition, whenever the working environment changes necessitating some new skills, the existing employees need to be trained so that their efficiency and effectiveness in the working environment can improve.
References.
ASTD Public Policy Council. (2006). Bridging the skills gap: How the skills shortage threatens growth and competitiveness-- and what to do about it. Alexandria, Va: American Society for Training & Development.
Gordon, E. E., Ponticell, J. A., & Morgan, R. R. (1991). Closing the literacy gap in American business: A guide for trainers and human resource specialists. New York: Quorum.
Nakayama, M., & Sutcliffe, N. (2005). Managing IT skills portfolios: Planning, acquisition, and performance evaluation. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Pub.
