Have You Found Your Unicorn?
April 3, 2025
Some of our clients tell us they are looking for a unicorn – a rare, perfect Technical Specialist – and ask us to let them know if we find one. If only it were that simple.
While we all know unicorns don’t exist, Technical Specialists do. However, our experience tells us that these specialists rarely make themselves known. Unearthing and identifying them takes time, effort and commitment.
Succession planning, specialist projects, bid winning CVs and many other business growth strategies highlight the need for specialist skills, yet many companies sit back and wait, sometimes for years, for the perfect Technical Specialist to appear, rather than grow their own.
According to the Hays 2025 Skills Report – 85% of respondents reported a skills gap in their organisations. The breakdown includes:
- Hard/technical skills – 57%
- Critical thinking and problem solving – 50%
- Leadership and management – 46%
- Communication – 41%.
This highlights that technical skills specific to job roles remains a top priority followed closely by what we identify as our soft (human) skills, and both are essential to support the growth and development of organisations. Interestingly, the scarcity of skills (91%) and development of skills (89%), are the top two reasons given for being unable to secure the skills organisations require. 60% of respondents expect the skills gap will stay the same or worsen over the next five years.
At Peak, we are constantly in the market, engaging with technical professionals and companies. Our aim is to add value by identifying the technical and human fit for an organisation, as well as identifying skill gaps and the support needed to move a candidate from 80% to 100% of the job and person brief.
Partner with Peak to find your next technical specialist – someone with the expertise and potential to evolve into the game-changing unicorn your organisation needs. We look forward to collaborating with your hiring managers and people and capability team to refine and execute a high-impact talent strategy.
