CIO

​Australian recruiters overlooking tech-savvy millennials

Digital natives not considered despite the need for more technology leadership

Organisations in Australia do not consider recruiting millennials a significant focus of their organisation despite experiencing a skills shortage around new technology and systems.

A recent global study from Epicor identified a disconnect between organisations that are seeking technology leadership and the next-generation workforce requirements to fuel business growth.

Despite those surveyed citing ‘technology leadership’ and a ‘skilled workforce as top growth stimulants, only 27 per cent of Australian business executives surveyed described recruiting millennials as a “fairly significant” or “major” focus, along with 39 per cent globally.

Research from EY shows millennials are expected to account for 75 per cent of the global workforce by 2025.

Fifteen per cent of Australian execs surveyed said they currently do not have enough skilled or experienced staff, and one fifth (20 per cent) say it is difficult to recruit skilled workers – compared to 19 per cent and 23 percent globally.

Further, one-quarter of execs surveyed overall said they struggle to retain the best staff, and 59 per cent said they are concerned about staff retention.

Technology continues to play a substantial role in business strategy, with 79 per cent of business leaders claiming to have made (or are making) investments in integrated IT infrastructure.

“The relative indifference in recruiting millennials to the workplace is especially surprising considering they are the fastest-growing generation in the US workforce, and are both technology proficient and digital literate,” said Celia Fleischaker, senior VP for Epicor Software.

“Businesses that recognise and move to leverage millennial talent can gain significant competitive advantage in today’s age of digital disruption.

“Organisations must rethink their relationship with digitally-literate workers and retool their organisations to attract, connect and empower this next-generation workforce via cloud, mobile, analytics and other enabling technologies.”