Brain Strain

The MENA’s demographic trends and exploding youth population are creating a war for talent and significant skills shortage that can no longer be ignored, recruitment experts are cautioning

As one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are heading towards a major talent shortage. With two thirds of the world’s known petroleum reserves, the region’s economic and political importance far outweighs its population size.

MENA has the world’s second fastest-growing population, after sub-Saharan Africa. The region’s demographic trends and exploding youth population are creating a war for talent and significant skills shortage that can no longer be ignored.

The current population in the MENA region sits at over 400 million and is projected to reach nearly 700 million by 2050. One in three people living in the region are between the ages of 10 and 24 – known as the MENA youth bulge. Added to that, the increasing participation of women in paid employment increased from about 25 per cent in 1980 to about 30 per cent in 2006. If women’s participation continues to increase closer to the world average of 52 per cent, women will constitute a huge potential pool of workers in MENA. (source:www.prb.org)

Not only are young adults entering the labour force in greater numbers, they are also increasingly more educated. The educational attainment of the adult population in MENA has increased by more than 150 per cent in the last two decades; faster than any other region or income group in the world. This is a consequence of the considerable resources devoted by governments in MENA to human capital accumulation.

It is now time that industries in the region recognise they have a highly educated workforce in the making and that they need to develop concise techniques to attract, recruit and retain them. The youth in MENA need jobs, education and training to become the next generation of workers; ultimately, creating a surge in working-age adults in the population that can boost economic growth in the region.

SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS INDUSTRY One of the largest industries capable of providing this opportunity is supply chain and logistics. Four of the Middle East nations are listed in the top 35 maritime nations in the world, 58.40 per cent of GDP is in merchandise trade, exports of goods and services are 36.90 per cent and imports are 35.60 per cent.

The supply chain and logistics industry has the opportunity to become one of the strongest in MENA and can lead the way in recruiting and attracting the growing youth population. The first step is for companies to recognise that they have a responsibility to assist with the education and training of the next generation to ensure that the industry is still as strong, if not stronger in forty years.

In recent years, MENA has attracted a significant number of expatriates to the region who have been brought over to add expertise and globalisation to the region. Expatriates should be seen as a valuable resource that can train and educate the next generation of professionals and practitioners.

INNOVATIVE RECRUITMENT TECHNIQUES It is now time that the supply chain and logistics industry in MENA started to develop new and innovative strategies to recruit and attract talent. The Internet is a good place to start.

The younger generation has developed a relationship with the Internet that has quite literally changed the way in which companies recruit. Gone are the days of just advertising in newspapers. In today’s business world, job boards and career portals are a crucial strategy to find talent.

SPECIALISED CAREER PORTALS Start by identifying available industry-focused job boards in the region. A number of on-line trade magazines, newsletters and industry associations have started to develop on-line job boards and career portals for the supply chain and logistics industry. LOG ME (www.log-me.com) and the Supply Chain Logistics Group (www.sclgme.org) have both recently taken the initiative and launched new specialist job boards, powered by the global platform of SupplyChainJobz (www.supplychainjobz.com), which will allow the industry in MENA global access to job seekers, advertisers and recruiters. These style job boards will ensure the industry slowly develops an online community to help reduce the talent shortage across the world. Companies now have the opportunity to advertise jobs on these portals, job seekers can post their resumes and recruiters can help find industry-based talent from across the globe. Additional resources include tools, tips and guides for attracting and retaining talent.

Industry-focused job boards also have an integrated approach to recruitment. Automatic job alerts and resume postings ensure that the companies registered are kept up-to-date with all available talent. Gone are the days of waiting for someone to read a passive advertisement online; these portals are active and working for the advertisers and job seekers.

Recruiters are becoming more sophisticated and are demanding smaller volumes of resumes with higher quality candidates. Online job boards have the ability to generate quality data on candidates, ‘weed out’ poor resumes, link the right candidates to the right companies and are a more sophisticated model for recruitment.

Corporate career sites that bring your company to the job seekers are also a recommended recruitment strategy. Actively advertising and promoting your company mission and branding can subconsciously assist attracting talent. Being recognised as an employer of choice in the minds of job seekers can make a difference. Most Internet recruiting is currently through recruiters and HR personnel. Yet, as companies become more geographically dispersed, corporate recruitment will shift closer to the business. Managements are starting to understand the world of Internet recruiting and are now searching for candidates themselves. Ultimately on-line recruitment services are a faster method to find candidates and if used effectively can ensure your competitive advantage.

Job boards and career portals are more than a place to advertise jobs. If developed correctly, they are a specialised communication medium that provides regular information for the industry as a whole. Sophisticated career portals are designed as another way to bring the industry together to learn, educate, train and provide a crucial strategy to reduce the talent shortage that affects us all.

It is important to realise that the most desirable candidates are less likely to post their resume on a job board or be actively seeking employment. Career portals that are developed as educational resources for the wider industry will have more success in attracting this sector of the market to their site. Educational websites are slowly becoming a popular tool in drawing already-employed candidates’ one step closer to the job board. They have become an online, interactive community and with the development of video interviewing, online job simulations, automatic reference checks and online assessments job boards will become a crucial recruitment strategy for every business.

SPECIALISED RECRUITMENT COMPANIES A second strategy for attracting talent is through specialised recruitment companies who have expertise in the supply chain and logistics industry and who understand your business. Companies such as Logistics Recruitment, (www.logisticsrecruitment.com), a leading global player in the supply chain and logistics industry, have a significant role to play in the war for talent. Logistics Recruitment is just one example of a specialised recruiter who has global reach through their international offices and whose recruiters are supply chain and logistics experts who have worked in the industry.

It is important to identify early on whether the recruitment company you are using truly understands the industry and your business. Add to that the importance of global reach. Does your recruitment company have access to the highest quality candidates from across the globe? Can they access already-employed candidates, how large and of what quality is their talent pool and can they meet your needs in a timely fashion?

Before selecting your recruitment company stop and look at their track record in the industry. Identify whether they have the capability to find you the best candidates that fit your company culture.

As the industry becomes increasingly competitive, the ability to recruit and retain the right talent can make the difference between success and failure. If the supply chain and logistics industry in MENA is to become ‘world class’, it needs to adopt best-in-breed techniques to attract and retain talent. Online communities, job boards, career portals and specialised recruitment companies are imperative for talent acquisition and retention.