Why employers find it hard to fill vacancies
Although the vacancy ratio in Kyiv is three openings per one jobless person, the Kyiv Job Placement Service can find jobs for every second job seeker. The obvious conclusion is that for some reason the available openings do not satisfy the job seekers. According to Tetiana Kysiliova, chief of the Central Labor Department at the Kyiv City State Administration, the existing situation is due to the fact that far from all Kyivans registered at job placement centers take into account the job market requirements and agree to undergo retraining and acquire new skills and knowledge. As she put it, there is a category of people who have developed a parasitic mentality and are content with government financial aid, while others find it too hard to overcome the fear of the unknown and take up even a less-paying job with the prospect of a growing income.
However, this problem has a flip side. Is it easy for the employer to fill the opening with an adequate employee? Tellingly, in Ukraine the average ratio of open jobs to persons seeking work is one to six. As for Kyiv, its job market relies heavily on job seekers coming from across Ukraine, whom the Kyiv Job Placement Service does not take into account. Tetiana Kostenko, personnel selection specialist with the Ivakom recruiting agency, is convinced that finding an employee suited to the employer’s requirements is much more difficult than simply placing a person in a job. The employer seeks an ideal employee, while the job seeker is looking for the highest-paying job. However, salary is not always a determinant. Today many job seekers take into account the level of responsibility, professional growth prospects, the company’s name, and the work environment. As a rule, both sides set too high requirements for each other, and neither side knows the real market price of the services in question. This is where the professional comes into play to balance the interests of both sides.
Considering that more and more employers are willing to remunerate the employees according to the volume, quality, and efficiency of the work done, they want employees to meet such high requirements. For example, Anatoly Alekseyev, information technologies department chief at a major Ukrainian construction company, attributes his personnel selection difficulties to the fact that applicants wrongly assess themselves and fail to match their education, personal qualities, and objectives to the job requirements. Alekseyev says that of the twenty- three resumes he has received thus far, he selected only three for a job interview, although he could easily choose more interviewees as far as the level of education is concerned. The thing is that many applicants treat their own destiny and career irresponsibly by mailing a single resume and cover letter to different employers, failing to answer all questions, and presenting information in an unstructured way.
According to specialists, all kinds of labor activity fall into three categories, with each category requiring its own set of personal qualities. For example, workers must be capable of making new and unconventional decisions, while specialists in various fields must be able to plan and organize their work effectively, as well as master new approaches and methods. Meanwhile, managers must be able to combine the interests of the enterprise with those of the personnel, organize their work and cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit in them. Research suggests that when a person takes a job that is too simple for his skills and knowledge, he begins to suffer from neurotic disorders. Declining working memory is accompanied with deteriorating language skills and a loss of concentration on the goal. Meanwhile, employers point to a great number of job seekers wanting any job at all in hopes of benefiting the organization. Such individuals cannot set a personal development goal either for the short or the long term. For this reason there are many applicants for attractive openings, and it becomes difficult to find the right person.
It is worth noting that many big companies in Ukraine do not limit themselves to personnel departments, but also create special human resources management services that handle the personnel selection process professionally. Applicants are asked to take various tests to determine the level of their professionalism followed by so-called stress interviews involving a psychologist to determine whether the applicant can work in a stressful environment. Special attention is paid to the applicant’s language proficiency, which shows his ability to reason. And most importantly, the interviewers seek to determine whether the applicant can and wishes to continue improving his skills. Especially valuable are certificates acquired at the university on completion of special courses relating to one’s specialty.
Under law, employers must announce job openings via local employment centers. They have no right to refuse employment to the person the center chooses for the job. Otherwise, the employer will have to foot some of the center’s bills. There is also a practice in Ukraine to create jobs to be subsidized from the local and state budgets. Thus, how can one find an efficient employee, considering all the specifics of our job market?
INCIDENTALLY
According to the Kyiv State Administration, the average wage in the capital is UAH 809.59, twice the minimum living wage and eleven times the average wage for Ukraine. Public sector workers are the lowest-paid. To illustrate, an average medical worker in Kyiv makes UAH 385.70 a month, while school and university teachers earn UAH 483 and cultural workers UAH 483. The highest wages are in the pipeline transport sector (UAH 2,811.88), financial intermediary work (UAH 2,472.41), and aviation transport (1,533.57). Meanwhile, 60% of all openings in Kyiv involve some forms of manual, physical, or unskilled labor.
