ManpowerGroup Leads World Economic Forum 2012 Task Force on Business as a Driving Force for Employment

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup, (NYSE: MAN) Chairman and CEO, chaired a robust "track" of discussions on business as a driving force for employment at the 2012 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Joerres is chairing the B20 Task Force on Employment, which will culminate in delivering recommendations for focused actions to inspire sustainable employment creation to the G20 group of nations at the G20 Summit in Mexico in June.

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The collective efforts of ManpowerGroup, world leader in innovative workforce solutions and strategic partner of WEF, in supporting the new Task Force, began with purposeful discussions with fellow CEOs and other business leaders focused on practical solutions to high unemployment and will culminate, after months of collaboration with the private and public sectors, with recommendations led by Joerres to the G20.

"High and persistent unemployment rates and tepid jobs growth continues to be a source of immense frustration for businesses, governments and individuals, as well as a global cause for concern" said Joerres. "While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem, it cannot be resolved in silos. There needs to be more consistent public and private collaboration across the board."

The "track" of sessions began with "Employment for Growth: One Challenge, Six Solutions," where participants addressed six dimensions for spurring employment:

• Engaging youth
• Mining the experience of the mature workforce
• Revitalizing education and training
• Creating new businesses
• Highlighting entrepreneurship and innovation
• Mobilizing skills and talent

In the session titled "Business as the Driving Force of Growth and Employment," CEO cross-industry partners considered how business leaders can encourage competitiveness and job creation policies at national and regional levels; what key enabling factors contribute most effectively to job creation and how they can be harnessed; and what new models business leaders can develop to stimulate sustainable jobs.

At an Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders — "Solving the 600 Million Jobs Challenge" — the topic of the 10-year challenge to find jobs for an additional 600 million people, with the global unemployed total standing at 200 million and 40 million people due to enter the labor force every year, was discussed. Finally, on Saturday, 28 January, the initial meeting of the "B20 Task Forces 2012" took place to develop concrete suggestions for G20 leaders.

Participants in the WEF "track" of sessions and subsequent virtual meetings will take outputs and core themes to be recommended to Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa at the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Mexico, before presenting the refined proposals to G20 leaders on 17 and 18 June.

ManpowerGroup's new research paper, "How to Navigate the Human Age," released last week in Davos, details how new work models, people practices and talent sources are required to successfully navigate the new ecosystem of the Human Age. The paper makes recommendations in a number of areas, including improved collaboration with governments, tapping overlooked and under-used talent pools, and strategically migrating in-demand talent within and across countries

"How to Navigate the Human Age" is available to download at: http://manpowergroup.com/research/research.cfm 

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined – because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, being the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2011 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility. In addition, ManpowerGroup has also been recognized as the industry leader by Fortune magazine, who named the company in first place on its 2011 list of the Most Admired Companies in the temporary help sector.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. This concept of talentism as the new capitalism is resonating and was echoed as a core theme of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only six Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup