Diversity MBA Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 48) Recruiting Hispanic Professionals By Tom Kadala At work or on the street, the racial spectrum of America is changing rapidly. If you follow the latest headlines, there seems to be a valid explanation. According to the US Census Bureau, by 2050 one out of every four Americans will be of Hispanic decent. What’s even more impressive; however, are the projected number of individuals. Currently at 44 million and growing, the Hispanic population is expected to more than double, reaching 100 million in that same time period. But if the Hispanic population is booming, why has it been so difficult for corporations to attract, hire, and retain Hispanic professionals? The problem of attracting Hispanic hires is more deeply rooted than meets the eye. With over 78 million baby-boomers set to retire in the next two decades, the Census Bureau estimates that their exodus from the workforce will generate approximately 35 million job openings, and the growing crop of minority candidates, among them Hispanics, will eventually fill a large portion of them. At present, the pipeline of available Hispanic professionals is scant at best. According to the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s Research Department (www.nshmba.org), Hispanic professionals currently represent 7% of the white-collar workforce. At such a low figure, it should be no surprise why human resources departments have been working overtime to come up with successful ways to attract and retain them. Contrary to popular belief, the pool of available bilingual Hispanics with sufficient professional working experience continues to grow smaller, not larger. Part of the reason can be attributed to the increasing competition among corporations looking for similar Hispanic talent. In addition, the number of qualified candidates is shrinking because the majority of Hispanics are too young. According to the Pew Hispanic Center (www.pewhispanic.org), the average age of 60% of the country’s Hispanics is just 13. The increasing quest for qualified candidates able to communicate effectively with Hispanics has created 48 w w w. d ive r s it y mb a ma g a z in e. c o m http://www.nshmba.org http://www.pewhispanic.org http://www.pewhispanic.org http://www.diversitymbamagazine.com
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