Shortage of recruitment: how to respond to the challenges of jobs in tension

Last December, the Ministry of Labor recalled in a report that jobs in tension represent a social and economic emergency. From health to building structures, from textiles and leather to low-carbon industries, the list of priority jobs is growing.

Result: thousands of positions to be filled, departures at the end of their career not replaceds, and recruitment challenges that traditional methods are no longer enough to solve.

However, recruitment solutions exist: better assess skills, thanks to clear job references; use an innovative assessment tool to detect transversal and technical skills; or even invest in vocational training and the retraining of job seekers.

From professional retraining to skills assessment, including new HR assessment tools (software, platforms, AI), each manager and each training organization owns a part of the solution. But you still need to know how to anticipate needs, analyze trends, and build an effective recruitment strategy.

History and context of jobs in tension in France

The concept of Jobs in tension is not new. For more than twenty years, successive reports from public institutions and specialized press articles have alerted to the growing gap between the needs of businesses and the supply of qualified candidates. In the 2000s, this phenomenon was already observed in industry and construction, two sectors that were historically sensitive to economic cycles.

The situation has worsened with the waves of mass retirements, often referred to as “grandpa boom”. These departures, not offset by a sufficient renewal of young workers, have caused lasting shortages. At the same time, the partial deindustrialization of certain territories has contributed to weakening the transmission of skills.

The multiplication of reforms of Labor code, the ministerial decrees and orders relating to vocational training, and the creation of mechanisms such as the CPF or the VAE, reflect a political will to respond to these tensions. However, despite these efforts, the recruitment difficulties remain and are now extending to service sectors such as health and hospitality.

Understanding the challenges around short jobs

Definition and status of jobs in tension

One Job in tension is defined by a persistent imbalance between labour supply and demand. In other words, there are more than vacancies What of qualified candidates available. Companies must then face extended recruitment deadlines, a high turn-over and sometimes to the impossibility of maintaining certain services.

In the health sector, nursing assistants, nurses and home helpers are at the heart of concerns. These jobs require technical skills but also human qualities, and yet they suffer from a lack of attractiveness. In the construction industry, structural and finishing trades experience massive departures at the end of their careers, with few trained replacements. Industry, especially in its low-carbon aspects, requires highly qualified engineers and technicians, but the pool remains insufficient.

Digital technology represents another challenge: the rapid evolution of technologies is constantly creating new needs in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence or data analysis. Traditional degrees struggle to keep up, and businesses are looking for profiles who can quickly acquire new skills. Finally, the hotel and restaurant industry illustrates the tensions linked to seasonality and working conditions: many establishments struggle to recruit even for unqualified positions of employees.

La List of jobs in tension published by France Travail reflects these realities. It shows that the jobs that recruit are also the ones who struggle the most in finding candidates.

Why traditional methods are no longer enough

For a long time, recruitment was based on RESUME, the diploma and The interview. But these methods are now showing their limits. They do not always make it possible to measure the transversal skills or to identify the potential of a candidate in retraining.

A candidate who has taken a Skills assessment Or a vocational training path may be perfectly suited to a position, even if he does not have the traditionally required degree. Conversely, a graduate without coping skills or strong motivation can fail quickly.

Recent reforms have therefore emphasized the need to build competency frameworks clear and to develop assessment tools more efficient. The use of validation of acquired experience (performance evaluation) and targeted training systems make it possible to better meet the needs of businesses.

How to assess professional skills?

Competency assessment as a strategic tool

THEskills assessment Is a assessment process structured, which combines several methods to obtain a global vision. It is not limited to the interview or the technical test: it includes theidentification of competencies existing, the measurement of performances and the ability to evolve.

Businesses use a variety of complementary devices. The Skills assessment allows employees and job seekers to analyze their achievements and to define a career path. The competency framework establishes a common base that describes the skills expected for each job. Digital tools, such as a HR assessment software, provide objective and usable data.

By integrating these approaches, the company can validate skills of its candidates, detect their strengths and identify training needs.

Technical skills and transversal skills

One of the key distinctions in modern valuation is that between technical skills and transversal skills. The first concern know-how directly linked to the profession: mastery of tools, machines and specific techniques. The second, more transversal, concern the ability to communicate, collaborate, and manage time and stress.

In short jobs, both dimensions are essential. A maintenance technician must certainly know how to work on a machine, but he must also be able to communicate with colleagues, to reassure a customer and to adapt quickly to unforeseen situations. This is why companies are now integrating scenarios and simulations to measure these skills.

The gamified scenario

Les gamified scenarios are a major innovation. Rather than asking a candidate to tell about their experience, they place them in a situation close to professional reality. The Yuzu tool, for example, offers interactive scenarios that measure how candidates react to pressure, their creativity, and their ability to solve problems.

These methods offer a more equitable assessment because they are not based solely on academic background. They also allowidentify atypical but promising profiles, to make the recruitment process more inclusive and to improve the attractiveness of the company.

What are the recruitment strategies?

Recruiting strategy and talent management

To overcome the recruitment difficulties, a company must develop a genuine recruitment strategy. This is based on the talent management and is not limited to filling vacancies. It must take into account medium and long-term perspectives, anticipate departures at the end of their career and invest in increasing the skills of employees.

The recruitment of shortage profiles often involves looking for candidates on new ones channels, to adapt contract terms or to offer specific benefits. La communication on professions then becomes a lever for attracting talent, by valuing career prospects, stability and opportunities for growth.

Anticipate needs and adapt the recruitment process

One effective recruitment strategy is based on the ability to anticipate needs. This involves analysing the evolution of the market, setting up a strategic plan and to adopt a recruitment process flexible.

Some businesses invest in investment plans & skills which fund in-house training, while developing partnerships with training organizations. This proactive approach makes it possible to secure the future by building a pool of qualified candidates.

How do you solve recruitment problems?

Identifying needs and resolving difficulties

The first step for solving recruitment challenges Is ofidentify needs accurately. Too often, job descriptions remain vague or unrealistic, excluding candidates who would have the required potential and skills.

Businesses then need to implement a tension reduction plan. This may involve improving working conditions, offering adapted training, or even more attractive remuneration policies.

Improving attractiveness and offering recruitment solutions

To improve theattractiveness of a sector, you have to work on its image. Campaigns of communication on professions, supported by the press and social networks, make it possible to promote the opportunities offered.

Les recruitment solutions also includesupport for job seekers by France Travail, which offers devices adapted to each profile. THEanalysis of trends in the labour market finally makes it possible to target efforts on the most critical jobs.

What tools for skills management?

Businesses today have a complete range ofskills management tools. Les assessment platforms centralize the results and allow profiles to be compared. Les evaluation software, like Yuzu, incorporate L'IA to make the results more reliable and reduce biases.

La skills mapping is particularly useful for visualizing available resources and planning for future needs. It feeds directly to the internal skills management and supports the implementation of the GEPP.

How to anticipate skills needs?

Anticipating skills needs requires a prospective approach. Businesses should analyze existing skills, study market trends and consult the prospective reports like those from France Stratgie.

La Job forecasting in the medium term is essential to avoid shortages. By integrating theskills assessment In a strategic plan, companies can tailor their recruitment and training policies according to specific needs.

What jobs are recruiting in 2024?

In 2024, the List of jobs in tension published by France Travail highlights several priority sectors. Health, construction, industry, digital technology and hotels and restaurants concentrate the majority of recruitment needs.

The Top 10 short jobs includes home helpers, maintenance technicians, catering servers, roofers, and nurses.

Les Prospects for jobs in 2030 show that these tensions will persist, with an increase in growing sectors linked to the ecological and digital transition. These areas represent real job opportunities, but require a Skills request in constant evolution.

How to train for jobs in tension?

La vocational training is a major lever for responding to tensions. Les training path offered by public and private organizations make it possible to acquire technical skills And transversal skills adapted.

La redevelopment is encouraged by devices such as the Skills assessment, the VAE and the programs oflearning. These solutions allow candidates who are far from employment to join jobs of the future.

Of training devices specific, financed by the Skills investment plan, offer a adapted training to the needs of each sector. Programs often include an alternation between theory and practice, guaranteeing faster integration.

Case studies and concrete examples

Take the example of a construction SME facing a wave of retirements. Thanks to a evaluation software, it was able to map the skills of its employees, identify the gaps and set up an internal training program. The result: better foresight and guaranteed continuity of service.

Another example, a seasonal hotel in a tourist area that was struggling to recruit staff. By collaborating with a training organization and offering a paid apprenticeship program, it was able to attract active young people and stabilize its workforce.

Finally, in health, a medical-social institution used a competency framework to adapt its recruitments and offer targeted training courses. This approach has made it possible to retain staff and to improve the quality of service.

Conclusion: turning scarcity into opportunity

La talent shortage And the Jobs in tension represent a considerable challenge, but they also offer an opportunity for transformation. By combining a skills assessment modern, a recruitment strategy proactive, vocational training solutions adapted and skills management tools innovative, businesses can build a sustainable response.

The key lies in the ability to anticipate needs, to attracting talent and to support each profile in its training path. This is how businesses will not only be able to respond to current tensions, but also prepare for the future by developing a solid pool of skills.

In other words, to transform constraint into opportunity is to consider that shortage of jobs are not a brake, but a lever for rethinking the functioning of the labour market, strengthen theprofessional integration and prepare the jobs of the future.

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