Six Job Skills in High Demand

Six Job Skills in High Demand

For some time now, U.S. economists have concurred that the United States is in an innovation slump. We have fallen behind other countries in several technological fields, especially drug research and software development.

The compensation in fields that require innovation is often significantly higher than compensation in other fields. Despite this, fewer students in the states have been choosing to study science, technology, engineering and math.

According to the recently released PriceWaterhouseCoopers Private Company Trendsetter Barometer, this innovation slump is apparent and will impact hiring decisions over the next two years.

Seventy-nine percent of companies surveyed said that they plan to hire new talent during this period, and 51 percent of CEOs surveyed indicated that they need to fill certain skill gaps over the next two years to meet their company's objectives. The largest skill gaps identified were in middle management (53 percent) and skilled labor (48 percent).

The survey points out some key functional skills, in the science and technology arena, which have a high potential for aggressive hiring:

Information technology: 30 percent of companies surveyed plan on hiring technology professionals.

Engineering/design: 25 percent of survey respondents claim they will hire engineers.

Additional areas that reported a skills gap and are likely to experience future growth include:

Marketing and sales: 52 percent of companies surveyed claim they will be hiring candidates with either sales or marketing skills. In addition, 11 percent reported that they will need to hire individuals with international marketing experience in the near future.

Financial/bookkeeping: 28 percent of firms reported a skills gap in finance and plan on hiring in the near future.

Clerical workers: 25 percent of companies identified clerical skills as a skills gap and have plans to hire in this area.

Manufacturing: 19 percent of firms with a skill gap will need to hire employees with manufacturing skills.

 By Barbara Safan

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Headhunting On The Rise On Wall Street - Wall Street & Technology

Headhunting On The Rise

Headhunting On The Rise On Wall Street More than half of the 1,422 people surveyed said between 1 and 5 headhunters had contacted them since the beginning of 2011.

Tags: career management, efinancialcareers,

By Melanie Rodier

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May 12, 2011 
 
Headhunters are vigorously approaching Wall Street executives, according to a new survey from eFinancialcareers, who reached out to 1,422 financial professionals.
Confirming the economic recovery in the financial sector, 40% of executives said they had received more calls from headhunters than last year. More than half of those surveyed said between 1 and 5 headhunters had contacted them since the beginning of 2011.
The top incentive headhunters offered was a better salary, followed by better career opportunities and a better title, according to the survey from the online financial job marketplace.
"When it comes to Wall Street, money talks," says Constance Melrose, managing director of eFinancialCareers North America. "The industry has been through a couple of years of recovery. People have started to feel more comfortable moving. Higher salaries are being offered."
Given new regulatory rules governing bonuses, Melrose said she is also seeing headhunters tempt new employees with higher guaranteed bonuses.
And it looks like the strategy of headhunters is paying off. According to the survey, 40% of executives said they had seen a greater number of voluntary departures from their department or area of specialty compared to last year.
Meanwhile, 80% of executives said their employers had not offered them any positive incentives this year to deter them from moving to another firm.
Among those surveyed, 53% work in the front office, with the remaining number equally split between the back and middle office.

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