ManpowerGroup: Aligning Skills and Facilitating Innovation are Key to Addressing Unemployment, Meeting Sector Needs

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions and World Economic Forum (WEF) strategic partner, calls for focused skills development in order to tackle pervasive unemployment.

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Today, Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO, will participate in the WEF panel session "Solving the Employment Equation," which will focus on how to reduce structural unemployment and address the skills mismatch to meet both present and future demand for talent. Topics to be explored by the panel include unleashing the potential of new and traditional sectors to drive employment, and how to create an environment where entrepreneurship can flourish and create jobs.

Technological advances and an ever changing business environment means that lifelong learning and skills development need to become a priority to ensure the talent pipeline is sustainable. The World Bank reports that 600 million new jobs will need to be created worldwide as the workforce grows. Increased demand in certain sectors, such as IT, will generate large numbers of these roles, therefore skills development must align with growth. This requires a shift in thinking from businesses, education institutes, and government, from short term skills improvements to playing for the long term.

According to ManpowerGroup's 2013 Talent Shortage Survey, employers in IT and manufacturing reported a shortage of workers with the necessary technical skills. Collaboration is needed to reduce this talent mismatch, ensuring young people gain sought-after skills, and businesses have access to the talent they need. To do this, organizations must work with education institutions to develop training programs that are aligned with business needs.

"Companies today are waiting to see sustained demand before they hire, achieving growth through productivity and efficiency. They are much leaner than in previous years, capitalizing on new technology and growing exponentially with a small team of highly skilled workers. This is a seismic shift in how we do business," said Joerres. "A new, forward-looking, strategic approach from all stakeholders is necessary to successfully build a sustainable career for individuals and an effective talent pipeline for companies."

Joerres will be joined on the "Solving the Employment Equation" panel by:

• Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Tata Consultancy Services
• Neelie Kroes, Vice-President and Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, European Commission, Brussels
• Christopher Pissarides, Regius Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science
• John Evans, General Secretary, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD

Follow @ManpowerGroupJJ on Twitter and look for our official hashtag #HumanAgeEvolving for updates and news.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN) is the world leader in innovative workforce solutions that ensure the talent sustainability of the world's workforce for the good of companies, communities, countries, and individuals themselves. Specializing in solutions that help organizations achieve business agility and workforce flexibility, ManpowerGroup leverages its 65 years of world of work expertise to create the work models, design the people practices and access the talent sources its clients need for the future. From staffing, recruitment, workforce consulting, outsourcing and career management to assessment, training and development, ManpowerGroup delivers the talent to drive the innovation and productivity of organizations in a world where talentism is the dominant economic system. Every day, ManpowerGroup connects more than 630,000 people to work and builds their experience and employability through its relationships with 400,000 clients across 80 countries and territories. ManpowerGroup's suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the third consecutive year in 2013, confirming our position as the most trusted brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup makes powering the world of work humanly possible at www.manpowergroup.com. Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: Twitter.com/manpowergroupjj

SOURCE ManpowerGroup