… as Blakskill unveils 2024 Outlook on Global Talent Market
At the fore of the global talent market undergoing unprecedented shifts influenced by technology, socio-economic changes and among others, experts who spoke at the 2024 Blakskill global talent market outlook meant to redefine the approach to work in Nigeria and sub-Sahara Africa, and the world made cases for industries, and institutions’ partnership as a panacea to skills-mismatch.
Olamide Malik, group head of human resources at Transcorp Plc, urged organisations to partner with universities and other institutions in developing curricula that are relevant to their job requirements rather than otherwise.
“To attract talents, organisations should focus on identifying individuals in service excellence. Besides, organisations should partner with universities to develop curricula for the industry’s specific needs,” she said.
Olugbenga Omojola, the chief executive officer at Blakskill Limited, a global HR tech platform that focuses on talent identification, incubation, acquisition, profiling and verification, bridging the gap between job seekers and employers speaking during the event at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos explained that the world is experiencing unprecedented changes that impact talent mobility tremendously.
“Today, we have an increase in new professions and several professions are also exiting the market. Evolving trends such as global warming, global and regional insecurity, governance, and public policies, among others, have impacts on the global talent market,” he said.
In addition, Omojola said; “In this rapidly changing world, businesses need more than ever before to stay ahead of the core in identifying, attracting, verifying, developing and retaining the right kinds of talents.”
Olusegun Mojeed, president and chairman of the governing council at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) disclosed that the global talent market and human resource profession is facing a new dimension and value chain narrative in its operation.
“In our current reality defined by the interconnectedness and rise of technology, the landscape of talent acquisition and utilisation is undergoing a transformative shift in profound implications across the globe,” he said.
He maintained that attempts to bring back the pre-Covid-19 era by employers of labour will discourage talent.
“Advance communication technologies have facilitated a barrier shift breaking traditional barriers to workplaces. The flexibility offered by the remote world will continue for organisations to build things without others, even as we move on in the new year,” he noted.
Mojeed pointed out that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play an important role in driving the human resource value chain in the new dispensation, because of its economic value.
Besides, he maintained that the emergence of the global talent market has ushered in a new era where geographical boundaries no longer confound talents but rather serve as gateways to a world of limitless possibilities.
He urged HR professionals to bear in mind that the remote high bricks-wall situation has come to stay.
Furthermore, the HR expert said that continuous learning and performance facilitated by the rise of technology has given room for on-the-go learning.
“The global talent market represents a paradigm shift in how we perceive and harness human potentials,” he said.
Kehinde Akintobi, a HR expert with Coca-Cola stressed that firms should find out what works for them in navigating the unprecedented global talent market challenges.
Yemi Faseun, chief talent officer at YF Talent Partners highlighted some global and local viable confronting talent markets in the contemporary era, such as technology, diversity and inclusion, among others.
“Technology allows people to work from home, hence, it changes the traditional work narrative. Management is now more about work objectivity rather than asking for employees’ presence,” he said.
Faseun also pointed out that people today are after the quality of life as opposed to working for survival witnessed years ago.
According to him, many millennial job seekers look for a conducive work environment with leadership that can connect with them; and not just demand for productivity.
Vanessa Phala, director of the International Labour Organisation office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone in her address called for an inclusive gender equality and education system that impacts skills.
“We need an education system that is producing graduates with the required skills in the marketplace. Some of the educational skills inculcated in learners are outdated,” she noted.
Phala urged Nigerian firms to be prepared to compete with international firms in the challenge to recruit and retain skills as a result of the interconnectivity offered by technology in the global talent market.
Oluseyi Fasanya, human resource director at DHL Nigeria expressed concern that the evolving nature of the global talent market has made it so that some relevant skills today would not be relevant in the near future.
“Emphasis on degrees will soon die, while skills will be the key consideration for employment,” he noted.
However, Henry Onukwuba, an HR professional at Lagos Business School argues that competent degrees will continually be relevant while mere certificates without competence would soon become irrelevant.
