Bridging the skills gap: Why corporates are losing the battle for talent

A young IT specialist walks out of a corporate headquarters in Dhaka for the last time, with the resignation letter in hand.

Just a year ago, he was hired to help digitise services. But frustrated by red tape and a rigid culture, he leaves for a nimble fintech start-up. Across town, an HR director struggles to fill a financial analyst post; after six months of exams and interviews, the top candidate grew tired of waiting and joined a multinational instead. 

These snapshots reflect a brewing HR crisis. Many organisations are understaffed, out-skilled, and unable to retain the very talent they need. It is a war for talent, and right now corporates are losing it. 

Corporate leaders admit their hiring practices lag behind. On paper, most organisations follow detailed recruitment processes, workforce planning, exams, interviews, background checks—which seem rigorous. In reality, they form a slow bureaucratic process, often taking half of the year to fill an entry-level role. 

By then, the best candidates are snapped up by faster-moving firms. Worse, allegations of favouritism persist: nepotism and political ties frequently shape outcomes. This erodes trust; why should ambitious graduates apply if jobs seem reserved for the well-connected?

Equally troubling is the widening skills gap. Every year, two million young Bangladeshis enter the labour market, yet over a third remain jobless a year later. A "bookish" education leaves them ill-prepared for employers' needs. Soft skills—communication, teamwork, problem-solving—are in particularly short supply. 

A recent study revealed a two-point gap on a five-point scale in group problem-solving ability, with similar weaknesses in communication. Despite this, many employers still rely on GPAs as proxies for competence. The result is new recruits who excel academically but lack the real-world knowledge to deliver, leaving customers dissatisfied and firms lagging.

The lesson is clear: winning the war for talent requires more than salaries or one-off training. It demands a cultural and strategic shift where employees, from shop floor to C-suite, feel enabled to grow, contribute, and belong. For Bangladeshi corporates, this means planning for future skills through proactive workforce development, building pipelines via university partnerships, internships, and reskilling people in alignment with digital transformation.

Poor hiring not only affects service quality but also fuels attrition. Employees mismatched to roles quickly become disengaged and leave, creating a costly "revolving door" of talent. Teams lose morale, productivity dips, and HR scrambles to repeat flawed processes. Even leadership retention is precarious. A Gartner survey cited in Harvard Business Review found 56% of executives globally expect to leave within two years. Once driven mainly by burnout or retirement, turnover now stems from limited growth, misaligned culture, or lack of fulfilment. 

In Bangladesh, the pattern is visible too: high performers and future leaders often feel stifled by rigid hierarchies. When a seasoned officer or innovative vice-president leaves, they take with them institutional knowledge that is hard to replace.

The battle for talent is worldwide. Visionary leaders emphasise that people are an organisation's most vital asset. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella urges continuous learning, warning that stagnation kills relevance. Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch famously said: "If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near." 

His words resonate for corporates today: those that fail to upskill staff and modernise management risk obsolescence. Indra Nooyi, who led PepsiCo to global success, stressed that employees need purpose and balance: "We want to create an environment where every employee can bring their whole self to work." Her philosophy shows that acknowledgement and work-life harmony translate into retention and growth.

The lesson is clear: winning the war for talent requires more than salaries or one-off training. It demands a cultural and strategic shift where employees, from shop floor to C-suite, feel enabled to grow, contribute, and belong. For Bangladeshi corporates, this means planning for future skills through proactive workforce development, building pipelines via university partnerships, internships, and reskilling people in alignment with digital transformation. 

It means hiring people using competency-based assessments that will help to restore trust. It means investing in continuous learning with robust training, growth-mindset cultures, and clear career pathways. And it means re-energising teams by addressing demotivation, promoting open communication, celebrating achievements, and leading with vision and ethics. When HR is made a strategic partner, when rewards are tied to performance, and when employees are given purpose, organisations can inspire loyalty and innovation.

Most organisations stand at a crossroads. If hiring stays clumsy and biased, and employees feel as if they are cogs rather than allies, corporations will keep losing talent. Their competitive edge, both at home and abroad—will be blunt. But if firms bridge the skills gap and modernise HR strategies, they can unleash growth, driven by skilled, motivated professionals who innovate and adapt swiftly.

The war for talent can be won if corporations treat it with urgency. That means discarding the old playbook and writing a new one that puts people at the centre. The evidence is persuasive, the solutions are available—what remains is the execution. A company is only as effective as its people. The sooner we acknowledge that and invest accordingly, the sooner Bangladesh's corporate sector will stop losing talent and start winning the future.

Sketch: TBS

Mohammad Musudur Rahman is a banker.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.