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The labor market is undergoing profound demographic changes. As I wrote last time, millions of baby boomers are retiring well before age 65. This means that sectors like manufacturing, construction and healthcare, which currently rely on many older workers, are losing employees far faster than they expected.
When businesses in these sectors try to replace retirees, they find that the labor availability of the next few generations of workers isn’t as strong as anticipated. Furthermore, birth rates are far below the replacement rate, which means labor availability isn’t going to improve anytime soon.
As a result, small business owners in sectors like construction, maintenance, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and healthcare — sectors that depend on a steady supply of people who head straight into the labor market after high school instead of going to college — are facing stiff competition for talent. If business owners want to hire the talent they need to succeed, they must work on new strategies and tactics.
If you want to develop a winning talent strategy in the new demographic reality, start by getting a thorough understanding of what new generations of talent are actually looking for. Instead of merely hoping that they will develop an interest in your company or industry and show up at your door equipped with the right skills, figure out how to connect to new generations.
Related: Why Baby Boomer Businesses Are Up For Grabs in 2025
1. Help students with direction
Many Gen Z students (and their parents) are uncertain about their future and face considerable stress about it. Should they go to college? What should they study? Should they go straight from high school into the workforce? What career should they pursue?
Reduce that anxiety by talking to parents and students about the opportunity to work in good, stable careers in an entrepreneurial, small-business environment (which early talent finds increasingly appealing). Playing the role of stress reliever helps create affinity for your business. Increasing certainty in the student’s moment of uncertainty will help you win talent.
This is especially true if your business offers work that requires less than a bachelor’s degree. Many of these jobs can be quite lucrative and appealing, especially to Gen Z students who would like to jumpstart their careers without incurring college debt, the No. 1 concern of students (and their parents) who are considering higher education as their next step after high school. And these careers don’t negate college.
On the contrary, a solid entry-level career in a good small business can help workers earn money, learn more about fields they like, and give them clarity about what degree they would like to pursue to refine their professional growth.
Don’t be shy about going directly to students and parents via schools, chambers of commerce, the news, career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) and other entities that help students find their way. Be open about what you do, what you need, and how new talent can grow. You will certainly find huge numbers of receptive students.
2. Second, help students build their skills and experience
Connections Academy recently found that 60% of its online K-12 students want to know more about the skills they should develop to land their dream jobs. Businesses that discuss the skills and experience that employees can gain through the company will attract a lot of interest from students and their parents. Small business owners should, therefore, make it clear how a new generation of talent can build their skills and experience through specific roles in the business.
For instance, the most in-demand skills in the labor market are soft skills (aka human or durable skills), such as communication, teamwork, leadership, adaptability, problem-solving, and customer service. These skills are learned in entry-level jobs of all types.
Is your small business looking for someone to help patients in a healthcare setting? Or perhaps you need someone to help schedule meetings with prospective clients so they can learn about the products or services you sell? Those positions instill soft skills. Right off the bat, those employees are gaining key skills in communication, customer service, and more. Do you offer a lot of hands-on work that will help students develop skills in production, construction, and maintenance? All these skills are in tremendous demand, pay well, and help students build great foundations with in-demand technical skills.
Make it clear to prospective talent that your business can help them gain important skills. This is a great way to find and attract early talent.
Related: 6 Ways to Attract Diverse Early Career Talent
3. Internships: The “try before you buy” three-month working interview
Finally, the best and most popular way for high school and college students to test and translate their education, skills and interests into the world of work is through internships.
For many Americans, internships are the bridge between education and work. In the U.S., internships are generally held by and offered to college students, and the vast majority are held by juniors and seniors. According to Strada Education, 96% of students who take an internship see it as a way to connect to career opportunities by gaining experience or exploring career interests. The National Survey of College Internships estimates that approximately four million internships are offered to college students each year.
By offering internships, small business owners can attract eager, motivated talent. While it may be true that larger firms generally offer internships, small businesses are by no means precluded from engaging.
Internships are highly strategic for small businesses for two main reasons.
- First, students seek them out. In our recent survey, 60% of the students surveyed said that they have not had an internship but would be interested in pursuing one. Forty-six percent said they want to know about the work experience (not just education) they would need in order to land their dream job — work experience that an internship would help provide. Small businesses that offer internships to early talent will find many interested students, who will also be surprised to see such an offer from a small business — and to high school students!
- Second, internships are essentially a three-month interview and training process that can help small businesses find, attract, and onboard new employees in a way that is exceedingly low risk. The company has next to nothing to lose. Offering your internship as a three-month interview opens your business up to far more candidates because Gen Z will recognize these types of opportunities as low-risk ways to test an area of work. If they don’t like it, they can stop and go in a different direction. And if a business decides that the intern isn’t a great fit, the internship ends peacefully, and no one has to be fired. It is a win-win for both parties.
The labor market in the roaring 2020s and beyond will be extraordinarily tight, creating hardships for smaller firms with limited recruiting budgets. However, by using these three techniques, small business leaders can appeal to and properly onboard new talent, which is key to helping the business thrive in the long term.
