Factors Impacting Employability to Address Barriers to Employment
2 April 2024
Understanding and addressing employability barriers is crucial for employers to tap into a wider talent pool and enhance workforce efficiency. Here’s a guide on how to navigate these challenges:
1. Addressing Occupational Immobility:
Occupational immobility refers to the difficulty workers face in transitioning between different sectors due to specialized skills that may not be relevant in other industries.
Here’s what employers can do:
- Upskilling and Reskilling: Invest in training programs to enhance the skill set of your workforce, making them adaptable to various roles,
- Lowering Skill Requirements: Where possible, reduce specific skill prerequisites and focus on core competencies and the ability to learn, and
- Training Schemes: Implement or support training schemes, especially for those unemployed, to boost their employability in new sectors.
2. Tackling Geographic Immobility:
Geographic immobility arises from the challenges associated with relocating for work, such as family ties, financial burdens, and housing costs.
Here’s how an employer can reasonably address them:
- Relocation Assistance: Offer financial support for moving expenses to ease the transition for new employees,
- Housing Support: Provide assistance with housing, such as down payments, rent subsidies, or
- adjustments in salary to account for living costs,
- Cost of Living Adjustments: Ensure that salaries reflect the cost of living in the area, particularly if it’s higher than the national average, and
- Cultural and Language Integration: For employees moving from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds, provide support through integration programs, language training, and mentorship.
3. Overcoming Structural Unemployment:
Structural unemployment occurs when there’s a mismatch between the skills offered by the workforce and those demanded by employers.
Here’s what an employer including in partnership with vocational organizations and industry associations, can do:
- Vocational Training Subsidies: Work with private sector firms to subsidize vocational training, raising the overall skill level of potential employees,
- Industry-Specific Initiatives: For industries experiencing significant changes, like the steel or heavy engineering sectors, develop targeted training programs to transition workers to growing industries.
4. Addressing Regional Variations:
Significant differences in housing prices and living costs across regions can deter potential employees from relocating.
- Here’s how employers can show they understand their employee’s needs:
- Financial Incentives for High-Cost Areas: Offer specific financial incentives for employees willing to move to areas with higher living costs or where there are labour shortages,
- Salary Adjustments: Adjust salaries to reflect regional cost differences, ensuring that employees maintain their standard of living.
5. Navigating Migration Controls:
Migration controls can limit the ability of international talent to relocate for work.
Here’s how to negotiate the push-pull around the issue:
- Legal and Immigration Support: Aid with visa applications and legal requirements for international hires,
- Cultural Integration Programs: Develop programs that help international employees integrate into the local culture and community.
By implementing these strategies, employers can effectively address employability barriers, creating a more dynamic, adaptable, and inclusive workforce.
