The Looming Talent Shortage

Here’s good employment news from the Chicago Tribune for anyone born after 1960:

In its annual survey, the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University found that while employers are cautious, they plan to make 7 percent more positions available than last year for graduates with a bachelor’s degree.

One reason has nothing to do with the economy, but with Baby Boomers.

“Some companies have 60 percent of their workforce getting ready to retire,” especially in industries such as transportation, education and accounting, said Philip Gardner, director of the institute.

What does this mean for you?

As the first wave of Baby Boomers starts to retire, you can expect to hear more — much more — news of companies desperate to hire and retain new talent. According to an article on Oracle’s Web site:

… a talent shortage looms as Baby Boomers, those born after World War II and prior to 1960, reach retirement age. Gen Xers, the label for people born from 1961 to 1970, number only about half that of Boomers. “We expect that in 10 years the talent shortage is going to be worse than it’s ever been,” says Row Henson, an Oracle HCM fellow.

“HR departments that succeed in the era of tight talent will be those that excel at retaining workers,” she adds. “We know absolutely that it’s cheaper to retain than to hire, so HR needs to look at how it develops the existing workforce so people want to stay,” Henson says.

Keep this in mind the next time you hear talk of a recession. Economic swings come and go. But there’s a dramatic restructuring of the labor force afoot in North America, one that’s going to stay with us for many years.

In the coming talent shortage, the odds will favor any employee who can clearly demonstrate his or value to employers. Can you?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 4:17 pm and is filed under job search tips. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.