Where are the worst talent shortages and what is one specific thing we can do to change that today?

At the risk of sounding old fashioned, I would suggest that our largest (asd growing) shortage is young workers with basic skills and work ethic. You can fill tech shortages with off-shore workers (at least for now) but if you can't find people with good basic skills and an understanding that work is not something you try to avoid, you are in trouble.

As for filling the gap, I think that we must reverse the trend, growing at least since the 60s, that youngsters shouldn't be restricted, penalized or have their natural flower-like potential held back. As a psych major in the mid-60s, I saw this philosophy growing in the educational community and, like my peers, thought it was nuts. It hasn't worked and we have ended up with an educational system designed to make school fun to the virtual exclusion of everything else. Until we back away from that approach, things won't improve much.

As we have become a more connected society, my sense is emotional intelligence is potentially our worst shortage. The lack of emotional intelligence as originally defined by Daniel Goleman affects so many of the skills mentioned so far including work ethic. It is the talent behind all those other skills and talents.

Communication skills are in short supply. While there are plenty of talented people in a variety of skill areas, communication is what binds it all together.

By communication I do NOT mean the ability to respond to an e-mail, blog post, text message, or to engage in social networking. I do mean the ability to author a technical document that is aimed at a specific audience level of understanding. I also mean the ability to stand up in front of an audience and so something more informative and engaging than merely reading PowerPoint slides. And I mean the ability to respond to a question that truly informs the person who asked it. Above all, though, I mean the ability to listen and understand what is being said and the learn, question, and interact with the knowledge gained.

There is no quick fix for this. It will take time. For a start, include communication skills in employment interviews. Include communication skills building courses in employee training. And reward those who communicate well with above average raises and opportunities for advancement.

Strategic long-term decision making is talent that missing today. In an era where everything can be obtained instantly (microwave, internet, video on demand) I believe many have forgotten that we build today for use tomorrow. Decision makers are making decisions that reap the rewards today with little or no regard for the future. This is evident in leaders of the houshold, leaders in business and leaders of government.

Rome was not built in a day and neither were the problems and challenges that we face and manage daily. In order to survive in business we need to recognize the decisions that we make today will have lasting affects on tomorrow. And todays leaders and the leaders being cultivated do not appear to have the skills to make (and stand by) the hard decisions to ensure that the future survival of company.

Judy Lee is an EI advocate and loves to talk about that space. I don't have a professional relationship with her but we connected via LinkedIn after I vigourously discussed an EI related piece on the Strategic Workforce Planning forum. She can be connected via LinkedIn or email and I'm sure she would have a suggestion in terms of an easier EI piece to read or research. Hope that helps.

Art is correct including there is no magic bullet or one thing you can do in a day to improve the situation.

I'm currently working on identifying the 5% operationally critical resources in an organisation so I can work on the Workforce Development strategies to either attain or retain those skillsets. Its a job of at least six-months (but more likely longer as the operational scene changes).

At the risk of sounding old fashioned, I would suggest that our largest (asd growing) shortage is young workers with basic skills and work ethic. You can fill tech shortages with off-shore workers (at least for now) but if you can't find people with good basic skills and an understanding that work is not something you try to avoid, you are in trouble.

As for filling the gap, I think that we must reverse the trend, growing at least since the 60s, that youngsters shouldn't be restricted, penalized or have their natural flower-like potential held back. As a psych major in the mid-60s, I saw this philosophy growing in the educational community and, like my peers, thought it was nuts. It hasn't worked and we have ended up with an educational system designed to make school fun to the virtual exclusion of everything else. Until we back away from that approach, things won't improve much.

I agree with Leanne. Emotional intelligence is the worst shortage. All businesses have people and we have to relate well with them on a daily basis in order to increase efficiency and productivity. If you fail to do this, most things go wrong. I think we need an easier explanation of emotional intelligence because I find Daniel Goleman book to be a bit complicated although with lots of concentration I finally got the idea, Leanne, please advise if you know of any book that explains emotional intelligence in a much simpler way.

Do you mean "where" in a geographic sense, in the sense of specific skills, or in competency?

Different definitions will result in different answers.

And, somehow, I'm skeptical about finding one single magic bullet for any definition. But, we'll see how the community responds.