On Thursday, June 6th, Apprentice Learning hosted a panel event called “Pipeline Partnerships: Early Entry into Talent Development,” where key stakeholders from various businesses discussed the growing demand for a skilled and diverse workforce in the Greater Boston area.
Stakeholders sitting on the panel included Ana Tavares, Principal at Rafael Hernandez K-8 School; Brenda Kirouac, Apprentice Learning Board Member and Human Resources Manager at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston; and Rosalin Acosta, Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development.
LR: Ana Tavares, Brenda Kirouac, Rosalin Acosta
“Talent shortage is here,” Kirouac began. “We are not thinking 20 years from now, but 30 days from now. We need to re-evaluate the hiring process so that we may expand the talent pool.”
She explained that while many companies list four-year degrees or multiple years of experience as job requirements, there are plenty of prospective candidates who do not necessarily meet these requirements, but that still have the potential to do the job well.
“When it comes to qualifications,” she said, “we need to think about what is nice to have, and what can be trained.”
Rosalin Acosta agreed, stating that for businesses to meet the demand for talent and diversify their workplace, they need to cast a wider net.
“If we have folks in the corporate world that are still hiring people that look like them, and they’re not reaching out to diverse audiences and are not trying to expand that network, think about the talent that they’ll be missing,” she said. “We need multiple voices from the community to make sure that we address this shortage.”
To learn more about the steps that businesses like Apprentice Learning are taking to diversify the workplace, click here to visit their website.
