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£84bn lost through global talent mismatches

A mismatch of talent is costing the global economy billions of pounds, a study has shown. Inability to adapt for new job roles is costing around £84 billion in lost productivity and avoidable recruitment costs.
 
Professional services network PwC assessed millions of interactions on social network LinkedIn to figure out how talent behaviour and opportunities matched up. The firm revealed a strong correlation between adaptability of talent in specific countries and the performance of its companies. If the markets were better able to match talent with the right opportunities, billions of pounds could be saved, PwC said.
 
The study also showed that the longer time spent trying to find the right candidates for roles, and the increased likelihood of mismatched talents leaving their roles sooner, is costing the global economy around £11.8 billion in avoidable recruitment costs.
 
Michael Rendell, partner and global head of HR services practice at PwC, commented that chief executives are worried about a growing skills gap, adding that worldwide unemployment in continuing to rise.
 
"The better employers and employees are at adapting to changing circumstances and aligning their skills with the available opportunities, the more productive organisations will become," he said.
 
A better talent fit between employers and workers could unlock billions of pounds in productivity, drive markets' competitive advantages and help close up the skills gap, Mr Rendell added.
 
As part of the study, markets were assigned talent adaptability scores based on five factors, including the average number of positions held by a professional during their career, how many times they had switched industries and the average number of open vacancies divided by the market's population. The score was used as a means of indicating how markets respond to shifts in demand.
 
Taking the top spot in the leaderboard for adaptability was the Netherlands, with its international business base and multilingual workforce helping ensure talent is matched to the right roles. Emerging markets such as China and India had lower scores as a result of factors like having fewer mature markets and a geographic size that limits worker mobility.
 
The UK took the second spot in the table for its adaptability, although the nation stands to gain £1.11 billion in extra productivity and avoidable recruitment costs by better matching workers with roles.