Global Talent Shortage?

I've read that some feel there's a shortage of talent in the global labor pool.

Here in the US, I see the problem differently: talent is plentiful; the ability to identify, develop, and retain it is what's lacking.

Companies' recruiting efforts are failing to bring in genuine talent. Instead, it's an automated game of word-match, trying to reduce sophisticated skill sets to a handful of keywords. For commodity jobs, this might work, but for the genuinely outstanding talent, it's doomed to failure.

Retention remains problematic not through lack of talented workers, but effective leaders. In this downturn, we'll see whether companies are serious about "people are our most valuable asset"--I'll bet many of these "assets" are dispensed like excess office furniture. This shows a serious lack of recognition of employees' value.