Randstad's Inspiring Experts Campaign Educates Current and Future Workforce on Jobs and Skills Gap in High Demand Industries

BOSTON, Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to bridge the rapidly growing skills' gap between jobs in-demand and qualified candidates, Randstad, the second largest HR services and staffing company in the world, today launched the second annual 'Inspiring Experts' contest. The contest, targeting college students and professionals, asks contestants to create, submit, and share short videos explaining their current career path and why others should consider getting into fields like engineering, finance, healthcare, life sciences/pharma, human resources or technologies. Students and professionals will compete for prizes, including a $10,000 scholarship.

While the unemployment rate for college graduates overall remains around 4.1 percent, unemployment for recent college grads is higher, hovering around 6.8 percent. Still, professional industries, such as engineering, IT and healthcare continue to have difficulty filling positions with the educated, highly skilled employees they need.

"The goal of our Inspiring Experts campaign is to cultivate conversations and attention to the impending skills gap to drive employment in high-demand industries," said Kristin Kelley, executive vice president with Randstad US. "As one of the largest staffing companies in the world, we feel it is our responsibility to arm the next generation of workers with information they need to make more informed, educated career decisions. After an overwhelming response to the campaign last year, we are thrilled to launch the second annual contest to continue our mission of building a pipeline of interested, qualified and passionate people for industries with low unemployment rates and high-growth potential."

Starting today, students and professionals can submit a two minute video about why they are passionate about their careers or future career and why others should consider the same field at the Inspiring Experts Contest website.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three students and the top three professionals who receive the most votes for their videos.  An additional three prizes will be awarded in a new 'most creative' category, open to adults over the age of 18 in any profession.  In addition to the top student winner receiving a $10,000 scholarship, the top professional winner will receive $5,000 cash along with $5,000 to contribute to the charity of their choice. All winners will receive an iPad.

This is the second year for Randstad's Inspiring Experts campaign, which recently won a national public service Voice Award from the American Staffing Association. The best in class award honored the campaign for its originality, innovation, and effectiveness of providing a positive impact on students and professionals through the Inspiring Experts website and annual contest. 

The Inspiring Experts website works year-round to encourage and inspire students and professionals to explore careers in top industries where these skill shortages exist and future job opportunities are expected to grow.

To post a student or professional video, or to vote for your favorite inspirational clip go to: http://inspiringexperts.com/contest.  

About Randstad
Randstad is a $22.5 billion global provider of HR services and the second largest staffing organization in the world. From temporary staffing to permanent placement to inhouse, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions, Randstad holds top positions around the world and has approximately 28,700 corporate employees working from its nearly 4,700 branches and inhouse locations in 40 countries. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands, Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. Learn more at http://www.randstad.com.

For more information on Inspiring Experts please visit http://inspiringexperts.com/contest.  

SOURCE Randstad