Research has shown that around 70% of organizations are currently suffering from some form of skills shortage. With the Covid pandemic prompting many to leave the workforce, the problem has only become more severe.
Our research has shown that millions of workers are overlooked for roles they could adequately perform due to factors that are largely unrelated to their skills. For instance, they might have disabilities, mental health problems, or a
criminal record. Evidence shows that there are millions of "invisible" workers across the economy that are not being utilized by organizations today.
A skills-based approach
In their latest Human Capital Trends report, consulting firm Deloitte argues that a skills-based approach would help to fill that gap. It's an approach that Deloitte has helped to spread via the OneTen initiative, which is a coalition formed
in 2020 by 37 founding companies to help one million Black individuals advance despite not having a four-year degree.
Research from Berkeley demonstrates just how important a goal this is, as Asian and white men tend to do considerably better than Black men and women without a college education. Indeed, the researchers found that young Black
men without a college education earn around half what their Asian American and white peers earn.
“Earnings are an important factor to study because they’re related to other outcomes, like health, engagement with the criminal justice system and family development,” the researchers explain. “So we focus on the non-college population
at an early age. They are already disadvantaged economically — they have very low earnings. If there’s a sizable racial or ethnic earnings disparity in this population, there may be severe consequences.”
