LONDON, May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, announced its support this week of new global workforce development goals unveiled at an annual conference held by Ciett, the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies. Ciett pledged to help 75 million young people enter the labor market, create 18 million jobs, provide 13 million companies with the skilled talent they need to grow, train 65 million people and align 280 million people with a flexible workforce model. These goals have the potential to significantly sustain the world's talent pipeline.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110330/CG73938LOGO-a)

David Arkless, ManpowerGroup President of Corporate and Government Affairs and current Vice President of Ciett, spoke at the conference, emphasizing that employment services companies improve the world's economy as they prepare and match workers for the right opportunities. Ciett represents 128,000 employment services companies in 51 countries. The industry creates the workforce flexibility needed to drive growth across regional markets, while connecting people to meaningful work.

"As companies adjust to an era characterized by rapid change and uncertainty, they must collaborate across and within industries, as well as with governments and educators to define master strategies for recruiting and developing tomorrow's workforce," said Arkless. "Without broad thinking and strategizing, companies will fail to sustain the talent pipeline needed to implement their business strategies in the Human Age."

In this era, access to talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Yet, despite high unemployment, one in three employers can't find the talent they need, according to ManpowerGroup's Talent Shortage Survey. Companies demand innovative workforce solutions to align their workforce and business strategies, and master strategies are key to accelerating the recruitment and developing of the skilled candidates that they seek. 

This week's conference announced that Ciett members will work together over the next five years to tackle critical challenges facing business leaders everywhere including how to: develop and sustain a global workforce while a rising number of untrained youth remain jobless, drive strategic public-private sector job creation planning, align the hard-to-find talent with the right opportunities, and contemporize job training and education.

"The new Ciett pledges are one more measure for ensuring that businesses, governments and educators collaborate in the effort to boost global employment and better job-to-candidate matching," Arkless added. "ManpowerGroup's unrivalled global reach and local expertise across 80 countries and territories gives us a unique perspective on workplace opportunities and positions ManpowerGroup to lead the industry in achieving these goals. Every day, ManpowerGroup connects the visions of our 400,000 clients with the ambitions of thousands of individuals to unleash their human potential and empower companies to succeed."

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,800 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined — because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, and was once again the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. This concept of talentism as the new capitalism continues to resonate and was echoed as a core theme of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success. 

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only six Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup