The unemployment rate in South Africa has escalated to alarming levels in 2021 and the recruitment landscape worldwide has changed irrevocably since the COVID-19 pandemic. A report released by the World Economic Forum has shown that the acceleration of automation and economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic will lead to the displacement of 85 million jobs and the creation of 97 million new ones globally by 2025.

According to Ayanda Mbanga, CEO of leading media buying agency Ayanda Mbanga Communications, this presents a huge opportunity within the disciplines of learning and development as well as human resources. The award-winning agency, which specialises in recruitment advertising design and placements, as well as an online job-portal, signed a ground-breaking agreement with global platform LinkedIn Talent Solutions last year. As a certified partner they can now offer a unique service to navigate this new environment for companies recruiting new staff as well as job seekers.

“We have carefully scrutinised the research conducted by LinkedIn internationally and looked at key take-outs that could benefit our clients. The LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report identified learning and development (L&D) as crucial to reshape or rebuild organisations. The report states that 59% of L&D professionals agree that upskilling and reskilling have become priorities in the post-pandemic landscape. Resilience and digital fluency were identified as the two most important skills across every country surveyed,” mentions Mbanga.

Mbanga explains that this collaboration can help employers to save time and money by pre-targeting potential candidates and engaging directly with suitable candidates. Research conducted for the 2020 LinkedIn Global Talent Trends report identified employee experience, people analytics, internal recruiting and multigenerational workforces as important requirements to not only retain current staff, but also in attracting new talent.

“Recruiters have changed the way candidates are assessed and appointed, looking at their potential and transferable skills instead of their history and technical capability. Virtual recruitment is here to stay and the LinkedIn platforms offer incredible solutions for identifying suitable applicants. This results in a better quality hire and the focused approach increases efficiency and speed of employment, while saving on salary commissions. Depending on the subscription package, potential employers can also see what competitors are offering to draw prospective employees.”

The agency also acts as talent developers for job seekers. Career coaching can be booked via the company’s website to help applicants to present themselves as the best candidate for a particular position. Guidance is provided to create powerful profiles accompanied by great resumes to target potential employers directly.

LinkedIn research has shown that upskilling has become a global trend. “Traditionally the average life span of a skill was five years, but that is rapidly decreasing with new skills emerging more rapidly. The pandemic has caused a massive shift from instructor-led training to online learning. Online learning solutions such as LinkedIn Learning have created global access to education opportunities. Generation Z is learning more than ever and focused on career growth, while older generations are focusing on developing soft skills such as communication and leadership.”

Read Ayanda Mbanga’s blog on the post-COVID job market https://ayandambanga.co.za/vukuzenzele/post-covid-19-career-trends/ and visit www.ayandambanga.co.za for more information.