Lessons from across the Atlantic?

We've written a few times lately about the skills gap, and have questioned whether it is the insurmountable obstacle some recruiters claim it is.

We wondered whether recruiters could help to overcome this perceived gap if they were a bit more realistic with what they expect from candidates, and suggested that employers could do a lot more to train new employees to help mould them into the workers they are looking for.

Well, it seems somebody agrees with us. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Dr Peter Cappelli (George W. Taylor professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources), suggests employers shouldn't be so quick to lay the blame elsewhere if they can't find the candidates they're looking for.

Cappelli says employers are being unrealistic in expecting to capture candidates who suit their needs perfectly, without inputting any training or 'ramp-up time' of their own. He says it's time for employers to stop blaming the US education system and instead recruit people who would be able to do the job after receiving the right training and practice.

Cappelli's piece is a fairly compelling argument for how US recruiters need to change their practices and expectations in order to help overcome a deep-rooted workforce issue, and it will be interesting to see whether his advice is taken on board by major employers.

And of course, Cappelli's advice is universal - it just as easily applies to UK employers as it does to those in the US. So, what do you think of his suggestions? Does Cappelli have a point when he says employers must shoulder some of the responsibility for bridging the skills gap?

And if not, then whose responsibility is it?