(Avery Point Group: Atlanta) -- According to an annual study by executive search firm The Avery Point Group, there are increasing signs that lean and Six Sigma are finally achieving parity in the job market.“Trends in industry are often telegraphed into candidate requirements in job postings, and they can serve as a window into the latest corporate initiatives,” says Tim Noble, managing principal of The Avery Point Group. “Our annual study continues to offer useful insight into the latest trends taking place in the area of corporate continuous improvement.”

In its third-annual sampling of internet job postings, The Avery Point Group found that Six Sigma no longer outpaces lean by a wide margin when it comes to desired skill sets, as was found in its two previous annual studies. Demand for lean talent has grown in the past year to almost equal that of Six Sigma. The growth in interest in lean talent has not, however, come at the expense of Six Sigma; rather the study shows an overall increased demand for continuous improvement talent utilizing both of these skill sets.

The study also found, for those companies seeking Six Sigma talent, 38 percent are looking for practitioners who have lean expertise as part of their tool set as well. For companies seeking lean talent the desire is only slightly greater for candidates to exhibit Six Sigma knowledge also, with 42 percent of all lean jobs posted requiring Six Sigma exposure. As further validation for the value of these skill sets, the study found demand for Six Sigma and lean talent from almost every function and industry segment.

“When it comes to desired skill sets companies want to have their cake and eat it, too,” says Noble. “Even though companies may not have a full-blown Six Sigma or lean deployment underway, our study shows each year they increasingly desire candidates that possess Six Sigma, lean or both skill sets.”

The Avery Point Group study also found that demand for Six Sigma talent has become increasingly “operationalized” with less than one-fifth of Six Sigma postings seeking to specifically fill Master Black Belt and Black Belt roles. “Companies are increasingly opting instead to inject candidates who posses Six Sigma and lean skill sets into regular line roles versus creating stand-alone structured continuous improvement roles, as often was the case with Six Sigma positions in the past,” says Noble.

Avery Point Group can be found on the Web at www.averypointgroup.com.