We’re constantly informed that one of the major barriers to delivering a low carbon economy is the lack of skilled workers. You only have to read the Government’s (past and present) plans to de-carbonise the economy to understand that smart grids, electric vehicles and digital upgrades would suggest that we are going to need many, many more highly skilled people than we currently have. Who is going to design and build these new wind farms, nuclear power stations and carbon capture projects?
Having recently listened to James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK and current President of the Energy Institute speak, it isn't just engineers that are required. We’ll need economists, business development and marketing professionals. In fact all types of technical and professional engineers and managers will be sorely needed.
The obvious way to fill this future skills gap is to nurture recent graduates. So why is it then that these same graduates are treated with such disregard by our leading companies? Two years ago undergraduates working on good degree courses were feted by blue chip companies. Enticed to these events by the promise of a good dinner and generally given the correct impression that they have a bright future.
Oh, how things have changed. These same blue chip companies now have their pick of graduates. You’ll be lucky if you get a Big Mac. A recent graduate told me about his experience. He responded to an advert for graduate positions, carried out an online selection process, attended an interview, which was a pretty robust affair involving 4 to 5 separate discussions over a day. He was then invited back to make a presentation on a topic he’d been given. All pretty reasonable, but the surprising thing is that this graduate found out that the potential employer had not decided how many candidates he was going to employ - if any. So our candidate got from 300 applications down to the last 3 after weeks of effort and he was told they would be in touch.
An anxious wait ended with an e-mail blandly stating that he had been unsuccessful. A brief ‘thank you’ for participating and that's it. A follow-up e-mail asking for feedback why he had been unsuccessful was ignored. This is an oft repeated tale coming from graduates and is, not surprisingly, very demoralising for them.
But I think this kind of behaviour is incredibly short sighted of these companies. Not only will they lose their competitive edge by having a skills gap in the future, but these bright people, who now happen to be unwanted, will certainly become successful in the years to come. In all likelihood, they’ll be in positions of influence, with a long memory and a dim view of their uncaring treatment. With little or no effort the process of finding a the successful candidate out of many bright young things could be carried out more humanely. How difficult is it, for instance, to be courteous and to offer feedback on the process and how well the applicant did? Instead you get a Simon Cowell style contest that is every bit as brutal as the X Factor.
If you are considering employing someone you have a duty of care to all that apply. You need to be honest and upfront about how many you are likely to recruit, keep unsuccessful candidates informed and offer feedback. The Human Resource staff are supposed to be professional and surely they should adopt consistent, open processes that do not demean the participants.
Every country has a need for smart graduates for their low carbon economies. We are currently treating many with disdain.
Britain's got talent. It's time we started to recognise it and treat it with respect.
