Unsurprising skills gap statistics just don’t add up

I wasn’t surprised to see that Cranfield and Personnel Today research shows that UK employers are having recruitment difficulties due to skills shortages (Personnel Today, 21 February). However, some of this may be a false perception caused by the trend that gives the HR team sole responsibility for running the recruitment process, with the department line manager involved only at the interview stage.

It seems unfair to give HR the burden of screening CVs as it cannot be expected to have in-depth knowledge of the skills and qualifications of each company department. For example, a line manager may specify a particular skill, which the HR team will use as a yardstick for screening CVs, but HR may be unaware that there are other equivalent qualifications or experience that are acceptable. A CV that the line manager would have selected might be rejected, leading to the impression that there is a shortage of appropriately skilled candidates.

Missing the subtleties on a CV could be the difference between binning and taking on the ideal recruit.

Dominic Wade

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Director

Wade Macdonald