Skilled Talent Shortage
A critical bottleneck for U.S. re-industrialization, referring to the scarcity of skilled tradespeople like electricians, welders, and machinists, which AI-powered training and productivity boosts aim to address.
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7/26/2025, 6:41:57 AM
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7/26/2025, 6:44:27 AM
Summary
A skilled talent shortage describes a situation where the supply of specialized skilled employees fails to meet demand within a specific industry or sector. A skilled worker is defined by their specialized training, knowledge, or experience, acquired through various means like on-the-job training, apprenticeships, or formal education, often leading to improved economic outcomes. The definition of a skilled worker has evolved, particularly in Western countries, shifting from manufacturing-based roles to advanced technical and service-oriented positions due to globalization and technological advancements. By 2030, this global talent shortage could result in over 85 million unfilled jobs and an estimated $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues, with the United States and Russia each facing a projected deficit of 6 million skilled persons. The United States is actively addressing its skilled talent shortage through initiatives like the AI Action Plan, a directive from the Trump Administration developed by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). This plan focuses on accelerating innovation, building national infrastructure (including energy and manufacturing), and fostering a dominant global AI ecosystem. Companies like Hadrian and Gecko Robotics are leveraging AI-powered factories and robotics to enhance manufacturing and infrastructure maintenance, contributing to a 'New Collar Boom' and creating demand for new skill sets. Programs such as Palantir's American Tech Fellows aim to equip workers with AI capabilities, while the Small Business Administration (SBA) has updated policies to allow loans for AI adoption, supporting small businesses in this technological shift. The broader solution involves embracing a skills-based approach over static job roles, continuously planning the workforce, and creating opportunities to accelerate skill development.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Causes
Demographic crisis (aging society), mismatch of skills, elite overproduction of university graduates, geographical imbalance, increase in mental and physical disabilities.
Definition
A worker who has special skill, training, or knowledge acquired through work experience, on-the-job training, an apprenticeship program, or formal education.
Solution Approach
Embrace skills over static jobs, skills-based approach, continuous workforce planning, creating experiences to accelerate skill development.
Impacted Industries (US)
Healthcare (nursing), IT (security, machine learning, software architecture).
Projected US Talent Deficit
6 million persons
Healthy US Unemployment Rate
3% to 5%
Nursing Unemployment Rate (US)
1.6%
Projected Global Revenue Loss (by 2030)
$8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues
Projected Global Job Vacancies (by 2030)
More than 85 million jobs
Evolution of Definition (Western Countries)
Shifted from manufacturing-based roles to more advanced technical and service-oriented positions due to globalization and technological advancements.
Projected Annual RN Job Openings (US, by 2032)
193,100 openings per year
Projected RNs Entering Workforce (US, 2022-2032)
177,400 total nurses
Timeline
- The definition of a skilled worker saw change throughout the 20th century, largely due to the industrial impact of the Great Depression and World War II. (Source: wikipedia)
1900-01-01
- The U.S. is expected to have a total of 177,400 nurses enter the workforce between 2022 and 2032, which is less than the required number to fill projected annual openings. (Source: web_search_results)
2022-01-01
- Article 'Causes, consequences and solutions for navigating the talent drought' published. (Source: web_search_results)
2025-04-23
- Article 'Understanding America's Labor Shortage: The Most Impacted Industries' updated. (Source: web_search_results)
2025-06-13
- More than 85 million jobs could go unfilled globally due to the skilled talent shortage, potentially resulting in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues. (Source: web_search_results)
2030-01-01
- It is projected that there will be an average of 193,100 job openings for registered nurses (RNs) per year in the U.S. (Source: web_search_results)
2032-01-01
- The AI Action Plan, a directive from the Trump Administration, was developed by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to address the skilled talent shortage and win the global AI Race. (Source: f2250dc0-a5de-43dc-ae4b-0e945f6a9af7)
Unknown
Wikipedia
View on WikipediaSkilled worker
A skilled worker is any worker who has special skill, training, or knowledge which they can then apply to their work. A skilled worker may have learned their skills through work experience, on-the-job training, an apprenticeship program or formal education. These skills often lead to better outcomes economically. The definition of a skilled worker has seen change throughout the 20th century, largely due to the industrial impact of the Great Depression and World War II. Further changes in globalisation have seen this definition shift further in Western countries, with many jobs moving from manufacturing based sectors to more advanced technical and service based roles. Examples of formally educated skilled labor include engineers, scientists, doctors and teachers, while examples of less formally educated workers include crane operators, CDL truck drivers, machinists, drafters, plumbers, craftsmen, cooks and bookkeepers.
Web Search Results
- The Skills Shortage: Causes, Current State, and Why Act Now - Nestor
A skills shortage describes a situation in which the supply of (specialized) skilled employees fails to meet the demand within a specific industry or sector. Or, in other words, it’s when there aren’t enough people available — who possess the necessary and desirable skills and proficiency — to fill job vacancies. [...] By 2030, more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled because there aren’t enough skilled people to take them. That talent shortage could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues. [...] The United States and Russia are also facing talent shortages, with a projected 6 million person deficit each. These countries represent critical global economies, and their inability to meet demand for skilled labor could ripple throughout global markets, affecting industries and international trade.
- Navigating the tech talent shortage | Deloitte Insights
surveyed noted that they struggled to hire workers with critical IT backgrounds in security, machine learning, and software architecture, and were forced to delay projects with financial backing due to a shortage of appropriately skilled talent.11 [...] To create new talent models in an era where technology is advancing so rapidly that tasks can quickly become obsolete, organizations should embrace skills over static, unchanging jobs. Organizations that take a skills-based approach are 63% more likely to achieve business outcomes than those that don’t.18 This skills-based approach can include efforts to collect and mine traditional skills data—including technical and business skills—as part of a larger effort to quantify the organization.19 [...] Ultimately, skills are often acquired through experiences, and leaders can help overcome tech skills shortages by finding opportunities to create experiences to accelerate skill development. By pairing continuous workforce planning with a skills-based approach, organizations can begin to develop longer-range plans to build new skills across the workforce that can help mitigate the challenges related to a constantly shifting landscape for tech skills. Organizations can also use this
- 5 strategies to handle global talent shortages - HR Executive
These reasons include a “demographic crisis” arising from an aging society; a mismatch of skills that people hold compared to those that employers need; “elite overproduction” of university graduates that has depleted the labor force for essential jobs; a geographical imbalance leaving open roles in places where the bulk of people don’t live; and an increase in mental and physical disabilities that are removing people entirely from the workforce. [...] This is achieved by building performance attributes into the assessment of candidates. “This is the ‘X 10 person,’ meaning that person is worth 10 others because they’re so skillful,” Lee explained. Talent efficiency [...] Talent density refers to increasing the skill quality per capita within the business. Lee describes the quintessential “A player” who succeeds in many aspects of their work. The idea is to “do more with less”—rather than hiring additional people. Here, the pressure is on HR to find, attract and bring on quality staff who can handle the same amount of work previously done by multiple people or a whole team.
- Understanding America's Labor Shortage: The Most Impacted ...
In the U.S., a healthy unemployment rate typically falls between 3% and 5%. Industries with lower-than-average unemployment rates have fewer experienced candidates to choose from when filling their job openings. This situation leads to heightened competition among businesses in these industries as they vie for the limited pool of available talent. Image 7 [...] For example, the healthcare industry, nursing specifically, falls far below the national unemployment rate, with only 1.6% of nurses being unemployed. By 2032, it is projected that there will be an average of 193,1000 job openings for registered nurses (RNs) per year. However, in the decade between 2022 and 2032, the U.S. is only expected to have a total of 177,400 nurses enter the workforce, less than the required number to fill just one years of projected openings. ### Read This [...] American businesses are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs each month, yet a significant number of positions still remain unfilled. Topics/ Workforce/ Image 1Photo by Ian Wagreich. Image 2: Stephanie Ferguson MelhornStephanie Ferguson Melhorn _Senior Director, Workforce & International Labor Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce_ Image 3: Makinizi HooverMakinizi Hoover _Senior Manager, Strategic Advocacy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce_ Updated June 13, 2025 Published
- Causes, consequences and solutions for navigating the talent drought
Solutions for small and mid-sized business Skills & talent-drive HCM Galaxy Accelerate USE CASES Modern Learning Experience Compliance Management Customer & partner training Content Curation Dynamic workforce planning Frontline worker development Leadership development & succession planning Internal recruiting & talent mobility Workplaces for all []( BY INDUSTRY [...] Published Time: 2025-04-23T04:14:54Z Causes, consequences and solutions for navigating the talent drought =============== Cornerstone Spark | Las Vegas | London | Our biggest global conference ever Register Now LogoImage 1: Cornerstone Book a Demo Toggle Menu Platform Image 2: menu-item-icon Galaxy Platform Build a high-performing, agile workforce.Image 3: menu-item-icon Cornerstone Galaxy AI Powering the entire Galaxy platform. [...] Cornerstone Galaxy, the complete AI-powered Workforce Agility platform, allows organizations to identify skills gaps and development opportunities, retain and engage top talent, and provide multi-modal learning experiences to meet the diverse needs of the modern workforce. Book a Demo GET IN TOUCH Contact Us Community & Support Image 114: Facebook Image 115: Instagram Image 116: LinkedIn Image 117: Twitter PLATFORM