Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The Disconnect: Do we really have a skills shortage? Or just a communication problem

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Our LPSS program is intended in part to address the skills shortage. But suppose it doesn't really exist. "We have not seen wages spike in response to a labour shortage, as would be dictated by the law of supply and demand." Maybe not, but many businesses are not viable if wages spike. Additionally, informal agreements often exist among employers about wage rates. So this data does not entail the conclusion that there is no skills gap. But suppose this is the case; what's happening instead? "We have a problem, not necessarily with the skills, but with how one describes the skills... Digital gatekeepers have none of the leeway inherent in an in-person exchange." Well if that were true it's the same as a shortage, so we should still expect a spike in wages. But what happens instead is that companies make do without. No doubt better algorithms would help (and we'll probably see a follow-up article in a few months that just such a process is being marketed by the main commentators in this article). But going back to the days of the personal interview is not an option.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 15, 2024 2:20 p.m.

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