OLMIS

by Jennifer McInroe
Published Mar-23-2010

Skills in the Workplace Skills During the Recession Conclusion

Oregon employers want skilled workers. The question is, "What specific skills are employers looking for when hiring new workers?" Employers search for a variety of basic and technical skills in potential job seekers. Certain basic skills will remain "in demand" well into the future. Some examples of basic skills that an employer might like to see in a potential job seeker, regardless of the occupation for which they are hiring, include basic problem solving, customer service, and the ability to interact well with others.

While certain basic skills (e.g., communication skills) will always be valuable to employers, changes in the economy will continue to create demand for new skills. As time goes on, employers' top skills in demand will churn as a result of economic and societal changes, and that will require job seekers to learn new skills. Consider the introduction of computers into the workforce. Whereas computer and technology skills are of great importance to employers today, 30 years ago computer skills would not have been in demand. As computers became prevalent in the workplace over the last few decades, the demand for job seekers with computer skills gradually increased. Similarly, with advances in telecommunications and air travel, global communications became more prominent as businesses spread their offices across the United States and into foreign countries. The trend toward globalization increased the need for cultural sensitivity and skills in inter-cultural communication.

Employment data is one place to begin looking at the skills in Oregon's workplace. The year 2008 provides a good starting place for analysis of skills in the recent economy, since the state of Oregon was already slipping into the 2007 economic recession. Table 1 shows the top 20 skills based on 2008 occupational employment.

The most common skills associated with 2008 employment range from very basic skills, such as using basic math, to more advanced skills such as making presentations and applying quality assurance techniques. Thinking about some of the most common occupations in the workforce, it is no surprise that skills such as receiving payments and making change (cashiers, gas station attendants), providing customer service (waiters and waitresses), and operating fax machines, copiers, printers, and other office machines (various office and clerical positions) are among the top 20 skills. Teamwork skills are also important across many occupations - the third-ranked skill in Table 1 is the ability to be a team player. Some may consider that working as a team member is more of a "soft" skill than a "hard" skill. Regardless, the ability to work well with others is clearly a skill that can be useful in a wide range of occupations.

Another way of assessing the top skills in demand is to analyze the skill requirements of actual job openings from 2008. Examining job openings that were advertised on the Oregon Employment Department's job placement tool iMatchSkills ( www.iMatchSkills.org) provides insight into the skills that were actually requested by employers during 2008. The iMatchSkills tool allows employers to advertise job openings. In the process of posting a job opening online, employers are asked to identify the skills that they want to see in job applicants. Table 2 reports the most requested skills from all job openings on iMatchSkills in 2008.

The most requested skills in Table 2 seem to be very similar to those based on 2008 employment by occupation. In fact, 14 skills are on both lists. Computer skills are favored among the iMatchSkills job openings, with skills such as using email software, using spreadsheet software, using database software, and using word processing software on the top 20 iMatchSkills list. This indicates a clear demand for basic word

processing, data entry, and e-mail skills by employers hiring in 2008. Computer skills are used in such a wide variety of occupations. Many employers screen for these basic skills up front and may not be willing to train for these skills, especially in today's economy with so many well-qualified job applicants vying for job openings.

In addition to computer skills, employers frequently desired customer service and teamwork skills (working as a team member; providing customer service). A third general trend from Table 2 is that many of these skills relate to general office work. Processing records, using correct spelling, working with detailed records, operating copiers, etc. are all general office skills that are of interest to employers posting jobs on iMatchSkills.

In 2009, the economy was still in recession. Did the type of skills in demand change between 2008 and 2009 as a result of the recession? In other words, which skills were most in demand last year? The iMatchSkills in demand did not change dramatically between the two years, with 17 skills carrying over from the 2008 list to the 2009 list. Table 3 contains the top 20 most requested skills for job openings that were posted on iMatchSkills during 2009.

The majority of skills remained the same between 2008 and 2009. Interestingly, the top three most popular skills from both 2008 and 2009 remained the same. However, three skills were more popular in 2009 than they were in 2008: applying confidentiality procedures, moderate typing speed, and preparing reports in a timely manner. These three skills replaced these 2008 skills: applying quality assurance techniques; maintaining consistent quality; and operating fax machines, copiers, printers, and other office machines.

There are 12 skills that appeared consistently across Tables 1 through 3:

• Apply health and sanitation standards
  
• Follow safety procedures
  
• Maneuver heavy objects
  
• Obtain information from clients, customers, patients, or others
  
• Process records and maintain forms and files
  
• Provide customer service
  
• Provide customer service using telephone
  
• Receive payments and make change
  
• Use basic mathematics
  
• Use computers to enter, access, and retrieve data
  
• Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling
  
• Work as a team member

These 12 skills paint a general picture of what employers are looking for in job seekers, regardless of the occupation. Overall, employers' skills in demand include computer skills, the ability to work as part of a team, collecting and communicating information, and maintaining records and files.

This snapshot of skills in demand used both employment data and actual job openings in iMatchSkills. These two approaches are unique, and both provide insight into the most common skills that employers are looking for in job seekers. Communication, teamwork, organizational ability, and computer skills are valued by employers both today and over the past few years. Additionally, iMatchSkills employers seek customer service skills, general office proficiency, and specific computer program experience. Analysis of skills in demand over the last two years highlighted a body of skills that may remain at the top of employer wish lists for years to come.

Skills in demand will continue to change due to changing industry composition and technological advances. WorkSource Oregon centers around the state specialize in providing skill training for job seekers, in an effort to keep job seeker skills up-to-date with the top skills in demand.