CIO opinion
CIO OPINION
“
AS BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT AUTHOR,
TOM PETERS, ONCE SAID,
‘HIRE FOR ATTITUDE AND
TRAIN FOR SKILLS’.
/////////////////
Neil Hammerton, CEO and Co-Founder of Natterbox
Helping CIOs tackle the
skills shortage
Traditional approaches to
hiring candidates for the
workplace are placing CIOs
at a disadvantage as they
limit potential candidates
to just graduates.
Intelligent CIO talks to Neil
Hammerton, CEO and Co-
Founder of Natterbox, who
tells us how employers
are contributing to the
cyberskills gap and how
they should consider hiring
those from more diverse
backgrounds.
www.intelligentcio.com
T
he story around the skills gap in technology and the shortage of
actual talent to fill it is an old one. Companies today almost wear
it like a badge of honour: finding qualified staff is impossible.
But is it actually the case? To me, the fear of not finding talent is only
justified when companies go through the traditional way of hiring,
where a university degree and some solid experience is required to make
the cut. This drastically reduces the talent pool companies could tap
into, so if they are to fill the talent shortage, they need to start thinking
outside the box.
Expanding the talent pool
Finding the right people for the job has always been a challenge
and it will likely remain that way. Many of us will be familiar with
the disappointment of hiring a new staff member, only to find they
don’t turn up on their first day or aren’t quite what you expected. And
although there used to be a long waiting list for jobs, that just isn’t the
case now and companies aren’t helping themselves by narrowing their
options to the university educated.
Ultimately, a degree and impressive qualifications aren’t the be all
and end all; in fact, with so many university graduates on the job
searching scene, good grades don’t necessarily stand out from the
crowd anymore. For this reason, companies should be extending
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