Chronic shortage of skilled workers

The cry for qualified workers

The skills of the available labor force have long been unable to keep up with employers' demand. Especially in countries with strong economic growth, the imbalance is increasing. This is very detrimental to the pace of economic recovery after the pandemic. Companies want to move forward again, but they simply cannot find the necessary manpower.

On the other hand, some countries face a shortage of attractive employment opportunities. Often those who are unemployed in one place, or working below their level, have skills that are scarce elsewhere. Building a bridge between the two may improve prospects for both business and employment.

Less education, more technology

The skills shortage has many causes. For example, there is the general under investment in training, something that Belgium has regrettably been one of the worst students in the class for some time, but is certainly making progress in. Also today's low unemployment rate is playing tricks on seeking employers. In fact, most people currently already have jobs.

A third reason for the shortage of skilled workers is the increase in technology in traditional industries. Machinery and equipment today are much more sophisticated, and the retraining of aging demographics cannot keep up. Add to that the waning image of some job positions, making it more difficult to enthuse young people about these courses and positions, and you really have an acute shortage. 

And so employers are forced to tread water to keep the business going. They hire fewer qualified candidates and put more effort into internal development or have vacancies open for months at key positions. This can result in lost production opportunities and potentially less investment in development, which in turn is unfavorable to the company's competitiveness and growth. So the key is to take action before you get caught in that vortex!

Retraining, retraining and hiring new workers

There is no simple solution to address the skilled labor shortage. A combination of training, new hires, hiring differently and changing negative perceptions about some job functions will be needed to turn the tide. How to proceed.

Train existing employees

You already have their talent and dedication. By investing in (internal) training, you can let them grow horizontally or diagonally in your company. Here's how to turn a few good resources into a priceless asset who remains motivated in the low term.

Get flexible

Some companies already have the people they need, but they deploy them inefficiently. Evaluate the skills available in your company and redistribute as needed. For example, take administrative red tape away from people who mainly like to work with their hands and let those who are energized by it perform it.

Review your recruitment process

How do you recruit new employees? Is your application process optimized and how long does it take before potential employees can be fully deployed? In our bureaucratic Belgium, valuable time can be lost. Be aware that the threshold that some feel when having to fill out a resume and cover letter can be very high. Especially for profiles that like to work with their hands. And then some companies still struggle with a lengthy selection process. Sifting through your candidate's talent is important, but if you spend too much time sifting through it, the competition may have already run with your talent!

Deploy experienced personnel across national borders

These are uncertain times, in which a company's flexibility has once again proved crucial. When workloads are high, you don't have time to train new people. Therefore, call on experience from abroad. For many technical and labor-intensive profiles, there is little work in their country of origin and they earn less for the same job while in Belgium there is a real War for Talent rages. Too much trouble to get them to this point? Not with a partner like Link2Europe!

Since 2007, Link2Europe has been seeking and finding qualified workers in countries where their talents remain unused. This for Belgian vacancies that are difficult to fill or to absorb large peak volumes in, for example, logistics and production environments.

Our people are immediately employable as we provide the smooth integration on your shop floor and in your office. They get every opportunity and you get extra hands to get the job done!
Find out how Link2Europe makes it tackles.