When I think of the phrase “Employment Gap”, what does that really mean? Without looking up a formal definition and going on only context clues, I would say that the employment gap is when there is a segment missing from the employment pool for jobs that are available. I would also begin to think that there are jobs available for skilled or knowledge based positions but no qualified applicants to fill the positions.
How do jobs get filled that requires an applicant with a specialized skillset? I think that these types of jobs could get filled by the companies or potential employers who look at a particular portion of the applicant pool. If the employers were to look to schools of all types that had programs that could directly fit the need of the positions, this would help to close the employment gap for that portion of the job market. So what if there is no student available in a program that best fits the needs of the position? The organization could identify traits that would best fit the position and then be willing to do “on the job” training for the people that will be hired.
So what should the potential applicant do to be ready for a highly skilled job? Basically what can you do to be eligible or more marketable for a skilled position? First, make a search for the type of jobs that would be interesting yet at the current time is not attainable due to lack of job experience. Next begin to review the job postings for such jobs and identify the type of educational requirements are needed to be eligible. There will likely be a timeframe that will go towards the completion of some educational component. Third, the potential applicant can pursue educational endeavors.
These are simply examples of how to close the employment gap from both sides of the position – the employer and the potential employee.
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