According to the Department of Higher Education and Training, only 10% of high school learners in South Africa go on to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Adding to this shortage of qualifying professionals, those who are recruiting STEM professionals often loose candidates to international opportunities.
These challenges are further compounded by the fact that many candidates have specific job aspirations. This means that they are not just looking for a job but one that closely matches their long-term career plans. Consequently, successful recruitment of STEM talent calls for a more strategic approach. One which should include creating inclusive talent pipelines most often best served in collaboration with specialist assistance from an industry experienced recruitment agency.
Top 3 Successful Recruitment Challenges
- Attracting the right talent
- Standing out as the optimal employer
- Skills shortages
These three recruitment challenges are not necessarily exclusive to recruiting for STEM positions. However, when combined with the recruitment challenges that are unique to the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics they can seem insurmountable. This is how to tackle challenges and find solutions that result in the successful hiring of STEM professionals.
Why is Professional Recruitment Challenging?
Companies need to first attract the right type of candidate and then convince their chosen candidate to sign an employment contract. Part of attracting qualified candidates is being able to recruit experienced but passive candidates. These are individuals who aren’t actively seeking a new job, but could be convinced to apply for one if the job conditions are appealing. To do this, recruitment processes need to be strategic in where they seek out candidates as well as in their engagement approach. Usually, engaging experienced top talent requires a more personalised approach which necessitates specialised recruitment knowledge.
A second challenge when hiring top talent is a company’s brand reputation. Companies with a strong brand presence that have a reputation for being a good place to work create a demand for their positions. This automatically means top talent will seek opportunities with them. Top talent is in a position to weigh up their potential well-being and job satisfaction when considering employment opportunities. Therefore, companies with a problematic or unknown brand reputation will battle to attract high calibre candidates.
What makes Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Recruitment Challenging
Recruiting for STEM vacancies is a challenge because it’s a highly specialised professional hiring process.
5 Reasons Why finding the Right Talent is a Challenge
- Talent Availability
- Lack of Experience and Skills Gaps
- Evolving Workplaces
- Defining a Competitive Package
- Advertising
1. Talent Availability
Within the STEM fields there tends to be more vacancies than candidates. The result is a highly competitive recruitment environment with a limited pool of top talent. It also means that those looking for jobs are spoilt for choice and can pick-and-choose according to what best matches their career aspirations and life-style.
2. Lack of Experience and Skills Gaps
While there may be more jobs than qualified candidates the situation is further complicated by a skills gap. Most STEM positions are highly skilled roles. This means that either an experienced candidate needs to be found or someone with high potential that can be upskilled quickly. Either option requires time and money, which increases the risk and costs associated with a bad hire. Practically, the most efficient way to navigate this challenge is to partner with an industry experienced recruitment agency.
3. Evolving Workplaces
Over the last few years, many organisations have shifted their workplace structure to enable employees to have remote and hybrid work options. As a result, to remain as an appealing workplace, a company might need to consider evolving their job descriptions and requirements.
Historically the majority of those qualifying within the engineering field sought work in engineering. Additionally, research reflects that they also continued to work in their field of qualification. However, more recently there has been an increase of interest and demand for engineers outside of the engineering field. Specifically, in start-ups who are able to offer additional benefits and opportunities. For example, a better work-life balance and increased flexibility such as hybrid and remote work options.
Similarly, within the science, technology and maths fields, qualified candidates are increasingly more likely to expect their role to be flexible as well as have a defined purpose. They are also tending towards choosing entrepreneurial endeavours, contract or freelance work.
4. Defining a Competitive Package
Hiring top talent within a limited pool means ensuring that remuneration and benefits packages are highly appealing. This increases the cost to company within a competitive market environment where companies are trying to contain costs to remain viable. At the same time market demand for STEM professionals means the cost of retaining experienced and qualified employees has escalated. This is due to, for example, the need to match or better external-company offers to continue to employ an existing employee.
5. Advertising
Successful recruitment starts with being able to advertise within the right talent pools. A good recruitment strategy also needs to target passive candidates who are the ideal fit but aren’t currently seeking alternative employment. These factors require an in-depth knowledge of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based industries, and ideally first-hand experience by a recruiter.
Furthermore, being able to advertise without geographical restrictions means that potential candidates could come from all over the world. This widens the potential talent pool which means a company is more likely to find just who they’re looking for. However, practically, it means that assessing qualifications can be tricky as qualifying candidates’ certifications may vary. To ensure that the right candidate is hired, a specialised recruiter who understands how different international qualifications equate is needed.
Practical Solutions to Solving Professional Recruitment Challenges
A strong talent attraction and management strategy is crucial to being able to access and sign the right professional candidate. Practically this means that a company seeking to fill science or engineering-based positions need to engage in talent acquisition not hiring. Talent acquisition is a long-term workforce planning strategy rather than a recruitment process that aims to achieve a quick and effective hire.
An essential part of a successful recruitment strategy is understanding a candidate’s experience and thereby ensuring that it is a good one. Bad recruitment processes are often seen as red flags by potential employees as they are associated with a higher likelihood of a toxic work and/or bad environment. This means that when recruitment experience is bad, top talent are more likely to turn down a job offer. And in the future ideal candidates are less likely to be referred for a position and unlikely to apply for positions at that company.
How to Succeed in STEM Recruitment
- Create a detailed job description, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. It should also outline specific educational requirements as well as soft and technical skills.
- Craft a compelling job advert which shows scope for professional skills development, career opportunities, and conveys an appealing work environment. It’s also important to show how the company’s mission and purpose behind work is connected, thereby conveying that the position makes a meaningful company contribution.
- Advertise on niche-job boards, professional association websites and platforms that are frequented by STEM professionals.
- Attend industry meetups, university faculty events and conferences to network with active and passive job-seeking candidates.
- Screen and assess shortlisted candidates paying careful attention to their qualifications, soft and hard skills, practical experience and industry knowledge. Within structured interviews ensure that theoretical and practical assessments are included in the process.
- Gage their company culture fit as well as their appetite to work at a company for the medium to long-term.
- Verify qualifications by performing in-depth background and reference checks to collaborate their qualifications, technical abilities and work ethic.
- Offer a competitive package that’s benchmarked against industry standards, includes appealing comprehensive benefits and supports professional development.
- Ensure and enhance the candidate experience throughout the recruitment process. Do this by tailoring the interview process, communicating regularly and timeously with candidates and conveying a positive company impression.
- Have a structured onboarding process in place that includes mentorship, a clear training and work strategy that ensures a new recruit feels productive and engaged. This is especially important if there is a probationary period.
How to Enhance Recruitment Processes
Most company HR teams are generalists. This means that while they are excellent at general recruitment they don’t necessarily have the technical insight needed to recruit within the STEM fields. As a result, when it comes to science, technology, engineering and mathematics recruitment, companies outsource to professional recruitment agencies. The Key Recruitment Group has 50 years’ experience in professional recruitment, and specialises in the recruitment of STEM candidates. Contact Us today to discuss how we can partner with you to enhance your recruitment processes.
FAQs:
Why is the Recruitment Process Important?
Who is employed from a recruitment process can have an impact on company culture and moral, productivity and ultimately profit margins.
Why is Professional Recruitment Challenging?
Professional recruitment is challenging because it is a strategic and targeted talent acquisition programme and not a general hiring process. This means that the talent pool of potential candidates is limited because the right candidates need specific skills and experience.
Do You need a Specialised Recruiter for STEM Recruitment?
Yes, recruiting for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) positions requires a specialised professional talent acquisition process. Furthermore, industry experienced recruiters are best suited as they have the inside knowledge required to assess and match skill requirements with inherent job complexities.
Why is Top Talent Recruitment challenging?
There are five primary reasons why recruiting top talent can be difficult: Lack of talent availability, skills gaps and lack of work experience among available candidates, an evolving workplace, defining a competitive package and correct placement of advertising.
What are the components of an Effective Talent Acquisition and Retention Strategy?
There are eight components of a successful recruitment strategy. These are cultivating an appealing company culture, recruiting the right candidates and hiring them, investment in employee skills development, implementing performance management and recognising achievements, fostering a positive work-environment and company culture and, finally, workforce planning.