Baby Boomers are to Blame for Skills Gap

Friday, April, 27 2012

It is no secret that 78 million of Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1966, are facing retirement over the next 20 years. And when they do, many organizations will face a shortage of skilled workers. Every job family, from the shop floor to the C-suite will face a significant exodus of employees. So significant is this threat that no less than the AARP, that would be the Association of Retired Persons, has partnered with SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management to look into the matter.

The good news is that many Baby Boomers plan to postpone retirement or at least shift from full time to part-time employment. This being the case, employers may be given enough of a breather to start developing succession plans and training programs. Many Baby Boomers want to remain active in their trades and professions, thus re-employment of retirees could be one way to bridge a seasonal or production need. While employers may perceive this delaying of retirement as a sign of loyalty, it has more to do with financial need. Like others, many Baby Boomers have not saved enough to start retirement at their normal age. The only way to bridge the savings gap is to worker longer.

The bad news is that many Boomers will start a second life, including a second career and they may be your competition. The difference between Boomers and earlier generations is that with a longer life expectancy, Boomers have the ability to start a second life and a second career. Consider that even after 25-35 years as a teacher, attorney, accountant, truck driver or factory foreman; Boomers can go on to learn a new trade or profession and put in another 15-20 years. Some go back to school, others go home to run the family farm and many other avail themselves of the many voluntary services needs that are out there. Do not expect Boomers to go quietly into the night.

Many individuals fall into their life’s work with little or no planning. Others know from day one what they want and where they can get it. As Baby Boomers look at semi-retirement, phased retirement or whatever it is called; employers have an opportunity to fill that skills gap with just a little bit of ingenuity and innovation. Boomers are healthier than previous generations and will live longer. That means that even at 60 or 65 a Boomer can start a new career and make significant contributions on the shop floor or the head office.

Retaining Boomers just like retaining any worker is going to require significant planning by any organization to avoid the risk of interruption to a business. That interruption will come from the loss of 20 plus years of knowledge stored in Boomer employees. So the real issue becomes “Knowledge Management”, even if they do not jump ship to your competitor, can you afford losing their knowledge?