Almost half of international companies do not believe they have the talent required to implement their strategy, according to a survey published by global recruiters Grafton Employment Group.

However, while 48% of companies feel they have a talent shortage, only 44% believe that this talent shortage is one of their business’s top three obstacles to achieving its goals.

Poland and the Baltic nations were the areas with the greatest shortage, where 57% of companies reported a lack of internal talent, closely followed by Hungary and Turkey, both with 55%.

Shared services and contact centres was the least positive sector, with 59% of employers in this sector experiencing difficulty in finding the necessary talent, followed by 58% in professional and financial services, 52% in technology, and 50% in both retail and automotive.

Global chief executive of Grafton, Jason Kennedy, says: “The global talent landscape continues to be shaped by a major contradiction. Despite persistent high unemployment rates in many markets and rising unemployment rates in numerous others, the Grafton Employment Group ‘Mind the Gap’ survey, has identified that almost half of employers are still having difficulty finding the talent they need.”