Seven HR

Transferable Skills

As the skills gap widens and the war for talent gains pace, smart businesses need to be looking outside the normal boundaries for ‘suitable’ candidates. This means that transferable skills have now gained importance, but are they really proving beneficial for employees and employers alike?

In such a battle for candidates, you’d think that recruiters would naturally look further afield, seeking candidates with skills that you can apply to any new job, no matter what the industry. Some certainly are; a recent drinks client here at Seven highlighted a range of businesses they required people from, including media and electronic organisations, a far cry from the more traditional businesses you would have expected them to target. But this example is rare and this kind of change appears to be relatively slow. Yes, employees are changing their careers, and the job for life mentality is no longer relevant to them, but employers tend to be slower to take up the idea.

The trend in the past has been for FMCG businesses to recruit FMCG professionals, or retail businesses to recruit retail people; and this ‘sector snobbery’ (as Personnel Today coins it) is still prevalent, highlighting the fact that many still do not consider sourcing candidates from outside of their “competitor boundaries”.

In addition, employers seem to be hesitant to develop these skills in their own employees. One reason for this could be the cost associated with developing transferable skills; equally, some employers feel by developing these skills they are simply equipping their employees with the tools to move on to another business. There is also the argument that on the other hand, employees need developing in order to ensure the business remains competitive, but by investing in the average people in your business, the growth and direction you would demand from strong individuals can be lost. It’s a tough one.

The fact remains though, that because of the war for talent, a lack of candidates means that companies’ hands will eventually be forced. HR Managers and Heads of Recruitment need to start influencing and convincing Line Managers now, that recruiting for and developing transferable skills is the way forward, and candidates outside the industry can be equally valid, before it’s too late.