IMPROVING SKILLS DEFICIENCIES AMONG THE WORKFORCE
Improving skills deficiencies of the workforce
Introduction
The growth in the skills deficiency of the workforce is a worrying trend. The latest reports indicate that the American workforce is flooded with illiterates who do not have the basic skills to perform the work to which they are assigned. The rate of decrease in the skill of the workforce is caused by the low level of education standards that are evident in any post-secondary educations. Apart from a lack of good education, challenges also arise in the confusion in the area of specialization. Most workers do not work in the areas of their specialization and hence leading to a poor workforce. Skill deficiency is a wide challenge that affects almost all areas of management (Minton-Eversole, 2009). Change in the manner in which work is done, that is, the introduction of technology has caused skills deficiency. Technology is an important revolution, but some workers have failed to cope with the new technology. In this case, such people who have little or no idea to operate with the new machines can have skills deficiency.
Productivity of the organization
The productivity of the organization or any business depends on the ability of the workers to work effectively. Studying the skills deficiency within any organization structure is thus important as it gives an eye opener to the stakeholders in such challenges. Skill deficiency is a challenge that when not keenly studied can lead to the failure of an organization. The workforce needs to be competent and has the full idea of what they deal with. An organization that has a workforce that lack the skills will mean that such organization is headed to its doom (Schmidt, 2009). The profits made in the organization will, therefore, rely on much of the workforce. It is, therefore, important to study the skills deficiency in any business or organization.
Coming generation
The second benefit of studying the skills deficiency in a workforce is to help the next generation not to cry foul of the mistakes done by the former generation. With the trend taking a root in many organizations, means that the next generation of the workforce might lack the necessary skills to perform even simple tasks. The worrying trend raises a red flag to the management stakeholders and the workforce at large to take an action. If the trend proceeds, the world economy might fall to the ground, meaning hardship to the human nature. The necessary cautions should be put into action that will improve on the skills of the workforce. Each and every player in this field should thus take a stand a help improve on the skills of the workforce. Studying this topic is thus a good strategy in making sure that the field of management will not lack competent managers in the future. The solutions arrived at in this case should thus be used by any organization in tackling the problem of skills deficiency amongst the workforce.
Problems of skills deficiency for an organization
Weak workforce
A workforce that lacks the relevant skills means a weak force. Such workforces cannot make decisions beyond what they have in mind. A workforce that lacks the relevant skills can be termed as illiterate and this case just problem to the organization. The organization will tend to spend much money on training its workforce in case it lacks the required skills. A huge amount of money used will mean a negative impact on the organization’s financial status. Apart from finance, the unskilled labor also wastes much time of the organization while attending remedial. The time wasted by the workforce while attending the remedial can be used in a productive manner.
The second problem that any organization might face as far as skill deficiency is concerned is the risk to offer poor quality. Unskilled labor force cannot be trusted to offer services that will appeal to the customers. Just as low as their level of understanding in their area of production, their products will be low too. This implication will mean negatively to the operations of the organization. Most organizations fail to appeal to the customers demand due to the low quality of the products offered. The blame at all time is laid on the shoulders of the management without considering the work force (Sims, 2007). In a nutshell, unskilled workforce can tarnish the image of the organization and chase away even the die-hard customers.
Third, an uncompetitive workface is not able to respond to customer queries on time and according to the appropriate procedure. Lack of understanding of organizational issues can make it difficult for clients to have trust in services or products associated with the company. Lacking the necessary basic skills contributes to unsatisfactory performance within the workplace. Such workers often require constant supervision and training in order to perform efficiently and effectively. Fourth, unskilled workers can pose a major challenge while working in a hazardous environment such as an environment that involves operating equipment and machinery. Fifth, unskilled workers lack the requisite interpersonal skills such as communication skills. This means that their inability to communicate with consumers can damage the reputation of the organization. Finally, yet important, unskilled workers are more likely to be less productive as compared to workers with low levels of experience and set of skills.
Strategies that organization may employ to deal with skills deficiency
Even though this problem is a difficult situation to deal with, the organization can, however, put some strategies that will help tackle the situation. The solutions that are provided below, however, depend on the size of the organization. The financial depth of the organization is another factor that will affect the strategies that are chosen.
Focus heavily on remedial training
According to Neumark et al. (2013 p. 160), remedial trainings can be the solutions to the skills deficiency in the workforce. The employees can have a routine training after a period so as to equip them with the new trends in the changing workforce. The remedial should be focused on training the workforce of the better ways of tackling the challenges that they face. The changes in the technology should also be another area where the work force should be equipped. The day to day in the technology means that the employees require frequent training.
Establish a corporate program to support education
The working generation should be nurtured right from school. McLean et al. (2013 p. 472) asserts that an organization should, therefore, cooperate with the stakeholders in the learning institutions so that students can only be taught what is relevant. The cooperation will mean that both sectors will benefit as students will get the job and in return offers their skill. This is the best way to tackle the challenges that the organizations face due to unskilled labor. Apart from the organization, the students will also benefit since they will learn what will be relevant in their later life.
Think of hiring as a long term commitment
Research done by Watson, Johnson, and Webb (2006 p. 1762) has indicated that it is true that the working forces lack the relevant skills. What an organization can do in such case is to strengthen the weak employees. This can be done through JIT training. JIT training is a form of training that an organization offers to its workers right from the time of hiring. The organization equips its workers with the basic skills required in such cases. In this case, the trend of layoffs is not welcome as it is not an appropriate way to tackle skill deficiency. The organizations that fire their employees due to incompetent are challenged to adopt this formula.
Conclusion
The increasing levels of skill deficiencies within the workplace continuous to be a major problem in many organizations. The trend of having unskilled workers has increased over the years, and it continuous to proceed, the world economy might slow down leading to low productivities and poor quality service delivery. The necessary cautions should be put into action that will improve on the skills of the workforce. While employing unskilled labor can be cost efficient in terms of low salaries and wages, the long-term effects are detrimental to organizations because it affects the level of performance, quality service delivery, and increased costs in training. Poor interpersonal skills, increased chances of being involved in hazards, and lack of basic skills are other challenges associated with using unskilled workers.
Reference List
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Merkel, C. 1995. A test of the skills deficiency and self-efficacy models to explain argumentative behavior. Thesis (M.A.)--Kent State University, 1995.
Minton-Eversole, T 2009, 'Skills Deficiencies Threaten United States' Workforce Competence', HR Magazine, 54, 9, p. 18,
Moerk, E. L. 2000. The guided acquisition of first language skills. Stamford, CT, Ablex Pub.
Neumark, D, Johnson, H, & Mejia, M 2013, 'Future skill shortages in the U.S. economy?’ Economics of Education Review, 32, pp. 151-167, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 November 2014.
Schmidt, SW 2009, 'Employee demographics and job training satisfaction: the relationship between dimensions of diversity and satisfaction with job training', Human Resource Development International, 12, 3, pp. 297-312,
Watson, D, Johnson, S, & Webb, R 2006, 'Employer perceptions of skills deficiencies in the UK labor market: a sub-regional analysis', Environment & Planning A, 38, 9, pp. 1753-1771, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 November 2014.
