The recent 2015 talent shortage survey by Manpower found that 41% of employers in Switzerland were having difficulty filling jobs. This is 3% higher than the global average of 38%. Neighbouring countries such and France (29%) and Italy (28%) fared better while Germany on 46% had a worse skills shortage than Switzerland.

41,700 employers across 80 countries and territories were asked: how much difficulty are you having filling jobs due to lack of available talent?, compared to last year at this time, how much difficulty are you having filling jobs?, and what is the one job you are typically having the most difficulty filling?

The jobs hardest to fill in Switzerland include skilled trades, management and executive positions, sales representatives, accounting and finance staff and secretaries.

The report says that demographic, technological and economic shifts continue to change the employment landscape and that human talent is becoming a more and more important driver of business success.

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The report also points to the challenge of declining working age people brought on by aging populations. This is forcing employers to select from shrinking talent pools.

The challenge for Swiss employers has become worse in the last year with the percentage of employers struggling to fill jobs moving from 33% to 41%.

Rapid technological change is shorting the life cycle of skills, requiring more and faster training and retraining. This is leading to a polarisation of talent into those with in-demand skills and those without.

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