Although 14 million Americans are out of work, many small business owners are finding it difficult to find the right people to fill their open positions. Skilled workers seem to be hard to come by these days and the employer-employee mismatch is being felt around the country. Small business owners continue to outsource or lure skilled workers from other countries to fill our jobs here in the United States.

34% of polled employers felt they will have some trouble filling their open skilled worker positions. Of this 34%, 24% can’t seem to find the workers they need in their region and are reaching out and expanding their searches. Over 20% of those felt as though the available workers did not have the technical skills required and a smaller percentage, 15%, mentioned that candidates had sub-par business knowledge and lacked formal qualifications.

Some point to the lack of educational opportunities for skilled workers while others mentioned the scaling back of formal training programs. When things were tight in 2000, many companies discontinued expensive training programs, which are impacting businesses now. Without the proper specific technical training, many employees are left without the necessary skills to land these jobs.

This situation is both a blessing and a curse for small businesses. Some employers are able to snatch up skilled workers for much less money, making them affordable when they were previously out of range. Other companies continue to have issues finding the right people for the job as they usually cannot compete with larger companies, who often offer better perks and benefits.

A meeting was held by the House of Representatives Small Business Committee about this issue. They noted that ongoing education and increased flexibility in small businesses will help rectify the situation. Small businesses must offer something that large ones cannot in order to get the employees they need. Flexible hours, perks and other benefits are a good start, but serious change needs to be instituted to fix this mismatch.