Resourcing and Talent Planning

Running head: RESOURCING AND TALENT PLANNING
RESOURCING AND TALENT PLANNING
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Question 1
1.1 Assess the major contemporary labour market trends in different country
context.
Labour market, also known as the job market or employment market, can be
described as the demand and supply dynamics of labour, where the employers provide the
demand and employees the supply. In other words, labour market indicates the amount of
jobs available, as well as the amount of individuals ready to fill in those positions. Labour
market signifies an important element of the economy as it is essentially related with the
market in terms of capital, goods and services. At the macroeconomic level, labour market is
influenced by the domestic and global issues such as politics, economy, legislations,
immigration, education and health status, skill and the age of the working population etc.
impact the market trends to a great extent (Joll et al. 2018).
With the rise of Multinational organisations, there is an apparent paradigm
shift in the labour market all over the globe. The entry of such organisations in a national
economy and business environment creates new opportunities in terms of employment, skill
and economic growth. On the other hand, the specific nature of the employable population,
involving their value system, culture, as well as their economic and professional expectations
influences the policies and operations of the organisations. Therefore, it can be said that the
labour market trends are dependent on the dynamics of the employee-employer relationship
(Driffield 2013).
Interestingly, the major trends of the global labour market are diametrically
contradictory. On one hand, there is an increasing rate of unemployment. On the other hand,
certain jobs are remaining vacant for a long time due to the lack of specialized skill. Scholars

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indicate that the world is undergoing the fourth wave of industrial revolution. As a
consequence, there will opening for many novel job opportunities. Businesses are facing
major changes in terms of products, services and technology innovation. This will create an
opening for people with special expertise. On the other hand, this change will diminish some
of the traditional employment options (Driffield 2013).
Following these trends in the labour market, the job market in the UK and Canada can
be explained. The economic data obtained from Office of National Statistics, UK indicates
that unemployment rate has gone down to a record 4% compared to the last 40 years’ report,
while employment rate has been recorded as high as 75.8% by the end of 2018. However,
these figures do not support the overall economy, as the GDP growth has only been 1.4%.
Scholars suggest that this due to the lack of key skill in the labour market of the UK. The
falling rate of migration from the EU countries and slow-paced innovation in the employer’s
end has contributed to this skill shortage (Ons.gov.uk. 2019).
In Canada, however, the job market trends indicate a steady growth in terms of
increased employment rate. Last year, the rate has increased to 1.2%. Unemployment rate has
gone down to 5.8%. Average weekly earnings have increased too. As for the regional
statistics, the work force has diverged into the rural areas, although this growth was uneven.
However, in Canada too, there is a skill shortage. As a result, the unemployment rate is
unstable (Www150.statcan.gc.ca. 2018).
1.2 Explain how organisations position themselves strategically in competitive
labour markets.
The most important strategy adopted by the companies to attract potential employees
is to present themselves as the “employer of choice”. Meaning, organisations work towards
creating a fair and attractive brand image as an employer. Employer Value Proposition plays

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an important role in creating this image (Baker, 2014). Addressing employee expectations,
creating opportunities for learning and development, offering a comprehensive benefit
package, practising a fair recruitment process are some of the strategies that organisations
utilise to attract and retain employees. Effective implementation of these strategies also gives
them competitive advantage over rival companies (Chhabra and Sharma 2014).
1.3 Explain the significance of tight and loose labour market conditions.
Loose labour market indicates surplus of knowledge and skills in the employee
population, from which companies can obtain a rich talent pool. Tight labour market, on the
other hand, suggests a shortage of skilled labour for performing in available organisational
roles.
Both these features have a strong impact on business. The feature of loose labour
market requires active recruitment process, although there are not much suitable positions
available. A stiff competition among the employees results from this feature. Tight labour
market too impacts the recruitment process, for the lack of suitable skill hinders
organisational performance (Granovetter 2018).
Question 2
1.4 Describe the role of government, employers and trade unions in ensuring
future skills needs are met.
Employee skill is a necessary requisite for enhancing organisational performance. The
functions and operations of a company largely rely on the skills and knowledge of the
respective employees. To ensure the sustainability of the company, the management has to
identify their current business needs and future prospects. Therefore, to increase productivity
and profitability, the organisations have to facilitate knowledge and skill development and

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necessary training for the employees. Hence, it can be said that the role of the employer in
managing the skill set of the company talent pool is three-fold: First of all, the employers
have to assess the requirement of talents according to their current need. Second, the
employers have to identify appropriate talents that would be the best suitable options for the
company’s requirements. And finally, the management has to make necessary arrangements
and strategies to aid the employees with necessary training so that they can work towards
achieving the goals and objectives set by the organisation (Marchington et al. 2016).
This aspect of training and development is applicable to the corporate entities, as well
as the government agencies. Besides, the government plays another necessary role to ensure
employee skill development for future needs. The primary factor through which the
government contributes to the issue is policies and legislations. The major challenge for the
governments in this regard is to ensure employability among the youth of the respective
countries by providing them with necessary higher education and training programs. As has
been mentioned earlier, lack of appropriate skill in the labour market can cause damage to the
performance of the private sector. This will in turn affect the country’s economy in a negative
way (Warner and Sullivan eds 2017). Therefore, the ruling bodies all across the world have
laid out elaborate plans to strategize and implement skill development in their respective
nations. For example, the government of the UK envisions the establishment of the Big
Society to ensure the sustainable growth of the economy by extending social mobility and
social inclusion (Department for Business Innovation & Skills UK. 2019). The underpinning
vision of these objectives are skill development nonetheless. Therefore, the UK government
declares that it is the shared responsibility of the government, the corporate organisations and
individuals to invest in the project with consistency and confidence. For the said objective,
the UK government has increased the number of Adult Apprenticeship programs, vocational

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courses, informal adult and community learning programs etc. (Milbourne and Cushman
2013)
Apart from the human resource policies and strategies adopted by the government,
there are some legislations that contribute to skill development as well. South Africa, for
example, has introduced Skill Development Act 1998 specifically to address this issue
(Horwitz 2013.). Several other countries such as the USA, Australia, and New Zealand etc.
undertake the same responsibility through their legislation designed for human resource
development, education, corporate law and labour law.
The involvement of trade unions in the issue of skill development also plays a key role. A
recent study from Leeds University shows that the positive involvement of the trade unions in
training has a strong impact on the overall outcome of employee skill development. The
study reports that the proportion of union members getting into training has gone up to 38.9%
from 36.8% in between the years 2008 and 2013. The proportion of the non-unionised
employees, on the other hand, has decreased from 23.4% to 22.9% (Tuc.org.uk. 2019). Trade
unions supports employees for entering into training and improving the quality of learning
opportunities. Workers who take part in this union-led training programs often are reported to
acquire enhanced job-related skills and consequently earn better wages and extended tenure
compared to the untrained employees. Thus, union-led training courses also contribute to
build an organized and skilled working force that will eventually be meeting the
organisational needs effectively (Gill and Meyer 2013).