As we emerge from economic catastrophe, it is the skills base of our workforce that will dictate our future prosperity. And in a world where skills shortages punctuate most talent agendas, the race is on to ensure the next generation’s future capability is aligned to the needs of organisations in a rapidly changing landscape.
To navigate around this and come up with a co-ordinated solution to match talent supply and demand, there is a need for extraordinary leadership and collaborative effort. So this edition, we are putting the spotlight on the issue of future talent to ask the critical question: ‘what will it take to drive change in the most fundamental leadership challenge of our time?’
HR directors from Asda, Santander, Hilton and Siemens discuss the problems affecting their sectors when it comes to young people and call upon schools, government and parents to work together.
Capgemini UK’s Chairman, Christine Hodgson, talks about the changing nature of work, why she’s so passionate about driving apprenticeships and how she’s reaching out to girls in our exclusive interview on page 30. And Helen Hyde, personnel director at Waitrose, explains why building a career for life exemplifies John Lewis’ approach to developing young talent.
We also find out how Barclays is pledging to reach 1 million young people through its Lifeskills initiative and how the CIPD’s Learning to Work campaign is helping HR get more youngsters ready for employment.
And in the effort to come up with a co-ordinated solution to bring young people and employers together, Jim Carrick-Birtwell unveils his vision for a careers advice platform Plotr.
Meanwhile, this issue’s big interview features Helmut Schuster, group HR director at BP, who talks candidly about his mission to find employees who will go the extra mile for the company. We also find out from HR leaders at NSPCC, DHL and Sodexo how they embed culture in their organisations.
Once you have critical talent in place, providing meaningful insights to inform and drive the agenda on how and where people are deployed is an essential task for HR. Heads of global mobility from Thomson Reuters, AstraZeneca, Marsh and Allianz reveal how they are shaping their functions to align to the talent agenda and provide meaningful opportunities for their workforce. And the CIPD’s CEO Peter Cheese, among others, outlines how you can leverage big data to make informed talent decisions and have strategic influence on the direction of your business.
Finally, amid a complex recruiting landscape, three agency heads discuss the future of resourcing and why responding to change is critical in this fast-paced world.
Times are changing and HR is poised to make a difference in shaping the future of work. The question is: are you ready?