Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 36 | Page 49

CIO opinion CIO OPINION “ AS BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AUTHOR, TOM PETERS, ONCE SAID, ‘HIRE FOR ATTITUDE AND TRAIN FOR SKILLS’. ///////////////// Neil Hammerton, CEO and Co-Founder of Natterboxa Helping CIOs tackle the skills shortage Traditional approaches to hiring candidates for the workplace are placing CIOs at a disadvantage as they limit potential candidates to just graduates. Intelligent CIO talks to Neil Hammerton, CEO and Co-Founder of Natterbox, who tells us how employers are contributing to the cyberskills gap and how they should consider hiring those from more diverse backgrounds. www.intelligentcio.com T he story around the skills gap in technology and the shortage of actual talent to fill it is an old one. Companies today almost wear it like a badge of honour: finding qualified staff is impossible. But is it actually the case? To me, the fear of not finding talent is only justified when companies go through the traditional way of hiring, where a university degree and some solid experience is required to make the cut. This drastically reduces the talent pool companies could tap into, so if they are to fill the talent shortage, they need to start thinking outside the box. Expanding the talent pool Finding the right people for the job has always been a challenge and it will likely remain that way. Many of us will be familiar with the disappointment of hiring a new staff member, only to find they don’t turn up on their first day or aren’t quite what you expected. And although there used to be a long waiting list for jobs, that just isn’t the case now and companies aren’t helping themselves by narrowing their options to the university educated. Ultimately, a degree and impressive qualifications aren’t the be all and end all – in fact, with so many university graduates on the job searching scene, good grades don’t necessarily stand out from the crowd INTELLIGENTCIO 49 49