How we helped Arqiva understand the talent landscape for rare and niche skills
Stratigens analysed the skills landscape for rare and niche capabilities for Arqiva. This work identified major new talent populations for the business and at least 20 channels through which to source talent. Arqiva now has a clear line of sight to future talent and has identified internal reskilling opportunities
“The facts generated from Stratigens challenged some long-held beliefs and opened our eyes to options that had previously been discounted or not even considered. Small changes to the way and where we advertise roles has significantly improved candidate quality and that data has given confidence as to where we invest and specifically decisions around what we buy versus build. The data has enabled a different conversation between the People function and business leaders, building trust and engagement in the process and approach to hiring and developing talent within Arqiva.”
The client problem
Arqiva, a leading UK broadcast and utilities infrastructure company, faces a challenge in hiring sufficient engineers to meet the needs of their evolving business. Where talent supply is scarce, hiring managers frequently resort to hiring expensive contractors to bridge the gap.
Arqiva wanted to understand the talent landscape for engineers within the UK to help meet their talent supply needs. Arqiva wanted to explore the composition, location and employment preferences of experienced engineers to enable them to identify the skills gap. The client also wanted to get a fresh lens on future talent planning using talent intelligence to inform skills development.
The solution
Using Stratigens™, we identified the potential talent pools for engineers by six specific skill sets. We provided a comprehensive picture of talent supply by UK region, along with intelligence on the largest industry and company employers, for these skills.
We then identified future sources of talent by exploring the original sources of talent including education, location and first post-education role to build an understanding of early career paths. We also reported on the companies with which Arqiva is competing for this talent.
We found variations in supply and demand between the six specific niche skill sets with some being extremely rare. In some cases, we found fewer than 10 individuals with the specific blend of skills that Arqiva needs. Although the talent landscape is fragmented and without one dominant employer of these skills, we found that 48% of Arqiva’s in-demand skills are in one specific industry but that there is also a potentially large untapped talent pool originating from a different career background.
The outcome
Data from Stratigens is being used to inform Arqiva on how best to mitigate resource capability gaps. Because Arqiva now better understands talent supply and demand across the UK, the People team can identify potential external talent sources and also direct internal development towards the specialist capabilities that will need to be developed through upskilling.
Intelligence on the presence of a second wave of target skills in similar and related industries has enabled Arqiva to tap into new potential sources of talent. Our analysis, which included educational backgrounds and generational split, has reconfirmed the use of modern apprentices as a longer-term strategy in nurturing specific skills.
Arqiva is seeking to hire relatively scarce, hard to find skills. Individuals with these skills are active across more than 20 social channels including some lesser known and niche platforms. The insight provided by Stratigens includes recommendations on how, and where, the talent acquisition team can seek to cast their net.
