The vast majority of Italian companies intend to hire new staff, but are looking for new skills that they often cannot find. The certifies it Market Watch Pmi created by Banca Ifis, according to which 83% of companies need workers with new skills. A trend that began as early as 2019 and will continue in the next two years, fueling the country's post-pandemic recovery. This is therefore good news for all workers who, however, must focus on training to be ready to face the challenges of the labor market. In fact, the demand from companies is concentrated above all on technical, digital and specialized profiles in 4.0 technologies. So let's talk about what in technical jargon are defined as "hard skills", which however must be accompanied by transversal soft skills such as: knowing how to work in a team, being flexible, solving problems. "Unfortunately, the gap between supply and demand remains wide and for technical profiles, more than half of SMEs today cannot find staff", underlines the Banca Ifis report.
THE SHORT CIRCUIT BETWEEN SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Experts call it mismatch, a term that indicates the gap between the skills sought by companies and those possessed by workers. The higher the discrepancy between supply and demand, the greater its impact on the labor market and on GDP.
The Banca Ifis SME Market Watch underlines how 58% of companies that deem new skills necessary in the production sector cannot find the personnel they are looking for. Furthermore, 37% of companies consider the ability to manage 4.0 technologies to be fundamental. Even the "soft" skills are difficult to match, in particular flexibility (40%), problem solving and decision-making ability (both at 37%), stress management (35%).
RECRUITMENT: THE MOST DEMANDED SKILLS
According to the study, only 10% of companies let themselves be discouraged in their scouting activity by the difficulties triggered by the pandemic, an attitude that however goes hand in hand with the difficulty in finding the skills sought. The others, on the other hand, continue to look for professionals.
But what are the most in-demand skills? 59% of SMEs are looking for new skills related to specific production techniques for their sector; 28% would like to hire collaborators capable of managing digital solutions; 26% are looking for administrative profiles and 24% subjects specialized in industry 4.0. Finally, for 8%, expert resources are needed in the Smac area (social, mobile, analytics, cloud).
“The demand for specific knowledge is not destined to run out in the short term. Over the next three years, the figures expert in production techniques will remain the most sought after (42%), followed by those who can count on digital skills and 4.0 (both at 39%)”, highlights Banca Ifis.
On the other hand, the most sought-after soft skills include relational or communication skills, which weigh on average for almost half (45%) in the typical profile sought by companies, team working (63%), problem solving (52%), flexibility (40%) and communication skills (38%).
"For all companies, internal training is essential to counteract the rapid obsolescence of skills due to technological progress", reads the report which also indicates the three priority areas for updating: production techniques (52%), digital skills (51 %) and 4.0 technologies (40%).
THE BANCA IFIS SOLUTION
The bank led by Frederik Gertman currently has 1.800 employees, with an average age of 40, much younger than the Italian average. In 2020, the institute provided over 37 hours of technical and soft skill training (+16,4% compared to 2019) on digital channels and on the Ifis Talent web platform which coordinates people development processes, and integrates the entry of new hires, guiding them in the first three months in the company.
