So if we’re not hiring and we’re not training…

Nope, no downside here

The hiring demand swings for Learning & Development professionals is just as wild as it is for internal recruiters.

As it was with internal recruiters, the demand in 2021-2022 for L&D types was through the roof. Then in 2023 it fell off a cliff.

Less needs for hiring, less needs for training.

(And on the job seeking side, we’ve seen a consistent uptick of L&D professionals looking for new roles over the last 18 months, just as we have with internal recruiters.)

Where did the demand go?

HR Generalists. Which you can read as either:

People with a broad range of skills who can figure it out and do it all.

Or

Companies who want to do more with less and ask someone to wear a millions hats.

I’m a huge fan of range and people who have broad experience to pull from. But I think even the most broadly talented people will agree: there’s a limit to what any one person can do well. Especially as HR, recruiting, and training are 3 completely different things.

I bring this up because last week, the news came out that 12% of twenty-somethings (with college degrees) are unemployed.

As a business community, if we’re not investing in hiring junior people and also not investing in training them…where are we headed?

(The pitch: Hirewell recruits all-thing-HR and internal TA. Hit me up. 🙂)

James Hornick

Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.