Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2012. All figures are from mid-2012, including 3 billion workers worldwide, one in three new jobs created in China or India, global GDP growth of up to 70% by 2030, China needing about 20 million skilled workers, and women’s share of university graduates.
Of the 3 billion people who work in the world, 80% live in developing countries, popularly known as emerging markets. This share drives GDP growth of 8% in the countries where the working-age population is rising.
This increase in global GDP, which is expected to reach as much as 70% by 2030, brings proportional growth in labor markets. Already today, one in three new jobs is created in China or India, while Western markets are suffering from a shortage of skilled workers. Remember the case of Germany, which needs specialists until 2014.
Faced with these economic prospects, human resources are going global, being updated, shifting and changing. Perhaps you should stop and think about these new trends. They’ll help you map out a plan for your working future if you’re one of those young people weighing up their career prospects.
A training strategy in English
Because of the demographic changes expected over the next 18 years, China also expects to need around 20 million skilled workers, with the worldwide figure reaching some 250 million specialists over these nearly two decades. Incredible figures!
It’s not just me saying it. The experts at Roland Berger predict that only 20% of today’s graduates meet international training standards, and one of the biggest stumbling blocks is languages (English), all at a time when the number of university graduates in emerging countries is expected to rise.
Industrialized countries lack proficiency in English, one of the requirements Western countries set for their jobs, except for Thailand, where a quarter of the population is bilingual and one of those languages is English.
Diversity or balance
Companies, especially the largest ones, are realizing the advantage of having a diverse and balanced workforce: men and women, young recent graduates and employees with plenty of professional experience, not to mention a mix of nationalities and cultures. Together they create a perfect balance of talent and experience that benefits companies.
This mix of workers allows any company to be present anywhere in the world at any time, opening up to new markets and increasing its output and the creativity of its products. It’s the magic formula for moving into new markets quickly and successfully.
A clear step forward here has been the entry of women into the workforce in emerging countries. Not for nothing, in the United Arab Emirates around 65% of all university graduates are women. In Brazil the figure is 60%, and in China 47%.
Talent retention
Companies need talent, and they don’t just need it: they have to keep it. They can’t afford to let talented employees, in whom they invest time and training, slip away to better offers. An attractive salary is the main factor in a company’s ability to retain people, together with effective talent management.
Besides salary, another option is continuous, up-to-date training for the people the company is betting on, along with ongoing assessment to detect the needs and concerns of the workforce and, of course, transparency in labor relations.
Featured image: Ali_Dubai_2015 ( Uploads ), CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
