WITH many companies looking to grow and expand in the post-pandemic recovery, recruiters are weighing between hiring experienced talent and training new or existing talent in a company to fill gaps in the workforce.

       But as the search for talent intensifies, industry observers say employers should be more open to hiring trainable candidates rather than just experienced workers.

       “When companies have an opening, most usually go for the ready-made talent in the market. This is normal as companies have their own expansion plans and timelines that they need to adhere to, so it makes sense to hire someone who can get right into the thick of things and start working,” says Melissa Norman, founder and managing director of Aisling Group.

       This has caused the recruitment space to fast become a competition arena as employers try to onboard the best talents.

       However, Norman points out that this could also be one of the factors contributing to the talent shortage as everyone fishes from the same talent pool.

       “With the current talent shortage that is happening, sometimes the talent search takes longer as you try to find someone who fits all the criteria. Competition also runs high as these candidates become more and more selective with their job search and recruiters and employers are trying to entice these candidates with better packages and perks,” she adds.

       This is where candidates’ trainability and a robust training programme come into play as these can get a relatively “green” employee up to speed.

       There were, notably, 5.36 million graduates in Malaysia with 202,400 of them unemployed in 2020. On the other hand, the local labour market could see some 4.5 million people, or 25% of the country’s workforce, losing their jobs by 2030 if they don’t upskill or reskill, she notes.

       Hence, providing suitable training programmes could help bridge the gap between rising unemployment and the war for the right talent.

       According to Norman, candidates’ trainability can be assessed through behavioural, cognitive, skills-based and interest assessments. Through these assessments, not only will employers have an opportunity to improve employee retention, workplace morale will also increase, which in turn will dramatically boost the overall productivity of the organisation.

       “There are costs associated with training programmes, and admittedly, if not conducted properly, these programmes could be pretty costly to a company. This is why assessing a candidate’s trainability is important as well, and you might find that a candidate’s past job experience is not the only valuable aspect of their profile,” she says.