Removing Barriers to Mobility of Skilled People Key to Tackling Worsening Talent Shortages

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN), world leader in innovative workforce solutions, has warned that increased competition for highly-skilled workers coupled with a shrinking pool of suitably-qualified people worldwide must be urgently addressed to ensure national competitiveness as the worst of global talent mismatches are yet to come.

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Manpower will play a leading role in this week's World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and as Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Skills and Talent Mobility, Manpower Inc. President of Corporate and Government Affairs David Arkless contributed to a World Economic Forum research report titled "Global Talent Risk – Seven Responses," which recommends actions to address the widening talent gap.

"It's a huge problem to find the right people with the right skills in any country in the world today," said Arkless. "We are facing a huge cataclysm, a world war for talent over the next 20 years. Employers must work with their people to ensure they are developing and unleashing the human potential within their reach – and that they know where the talent they will need in the future is going to come from."

The seven responses the report suggests to provide solutions are:

• Introduce strategic workforce planning
• Ease migration
• Foster brain circulation
• Increase employability
• Develop a talent "trellis"
• Encourage temporary and virtual mobility
• Extend the pool

At the World Economic Forum, Arkless will participate in a Professional Services Cross-Industry Private Meeting on Talent Mobility and will join other industry thought leaders to recommend actions that prevent the global talent mismatch from putting a brake on economic growth worldwide. Manpower advises that governments and organizations work together to facilitate the improved mobility of skilled talent instead of implementing restrictive immigration policies.

This also includes short-term talent mobility by issuing more temporary visas that allow highly-skilled individuals to go where they are needed. Doing so allows these workers to return to their homelands enriched with new abilities and critical "soft skills" gleaned from experiencing new cultures. This form of "brain circulation" benefits everyone and by leveraging new technology to engage workers from anywhere, virtual working makes physical location increasingly immaterial.

"Leveraging new forms of technology to reach geographically disparate workers will help ease the talent mismatch," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO. "It also allows companies to engage undertapped talent pools such as women, those with disabilities and members of groups who have traditionally been excluded from the workforce for various reasons."

Companies should also align their workforce strategy with their business strategy to ensure they have a sufficient pipeline of workers with the necessary skills to execute their business objectives. The c-suite of organizations must collaborate with human resource leaders to understand what a company's talent needs are, and how to best meet them in an era of talent scarcity.

As companies awaken to the very real power of humans, organizations will need to understand that their people no longer work "for" them, but rather "with" them. Focusing on career development and building skills not only increases the engagement of employees, but ensures a sustainable "conveyor belt" of highly-skilled people. Finally, governments, companies and educational institutions must collaborate to improve the employability of the current workforce by better aligning the skills taught with the abilities demanded by modern business.

"Understanding how to unleash the passion and potential of humans is essential in an age when disparities between supply and demand mean the best talent will be able to dictate when, where and how they work to employers," added Joerres. "The world is changing so dramatically and so completely that only the ultimate potential of humanity itself will enable us to move forward, adapt, evolve and rebuild."

The research report, "Global Talent Risk — Seven Responses," can be downloaded from the World Economic Forum Web site at: http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-talent-risks-report-2011?fo=1

Manpower Inc. is proud to be a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum 2011 Annual Meeting. Jeff Joerres, Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO; David Arkless, Manpower Inc. President of Corporate and Government Affairs; Francoise Gri, Manpower Inc. President of Southern Europe; and Jonas Prising, Manpower Inc. President of the Americas, are all participating in high-profile panels at this year's annual forum. Manpower partners with WEF on several initiatives, and in 2010, Joerres co-chaired the World Economic Forum on Europe meeting, Arkless is Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Skills & Talent Mobility. For more information about Manpower's presence at the World Economic Forum 2011 Annual Meeting, go to: http://www.manpower.com/press/wef2011.cfm. Joerres will also be sharing regular insight and expertise via Twitter on events in Davos and transformational implications for the world of work. Follow Joerres' tweets at www.twitter.com/manpowerceo

About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN), world leader in innovative workforce solutions; creates and delivers services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. With over 62 years' experience, Manpower offers employers a range of solutions and services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,000 offices in 82 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at www.manpower.com.

SOURCE Manpower Inc.