Mind the age gap Viewpoint careers advice blog

Mind the age gap Dramatic increases are expected in the number of economically active people aged 65 and over, and that’s posing big questions for workforce planning, talent management and succession. Particularly in countries with historically strong education systems, highly skilled and experienced older workers will become prized company assets, but older workers staying in employment does raise concerns of how to hire young talent when the traditional employment pipeline remains at capacity at the older end. It’s a concern for entire industries and economies. When skilled older workers eventually do retire, it threatens to create a skills vacuum that will take many years and a huge amount of investment to fill. Three decades ago, the UK’s heavy engineering and shipbuilding industries were the skills training ground for young people coming into the oil and gas industries. But as offshore platforms and onshore facilities processes became more automated, and traditional local yards gave way to overseas competition, fewer young people entered the industry and training dwindled. “Europe and the UK began exporting their skills to places like the Middle East,” says Gary Ward, Hays Operations Director Oil Gas CERoW (Continental Europe and Rest of World). Today an ageing oil and gas industry workforce is an issue in regions such as Russia, South America and parts of the Far East, with higher salaries overseas leading to a shortfall in the skills required to satisfy local needs. While these countries are starting to produce their own graduates, they are also undertaking massive recruitment drives. “The problem will hit the UK when we start building new power stations, which will require the same core oil and gas industry skills,” says Ward. The fact is, there aren’t enough of those skills in the UK any more. Older and better? A survey carried out in 2014 by The Economist Intelligence Unit, on behalf of business consultancy Towers Watson, polled 480 senior executives at companies across Europe. Almost three quarters (71 per cent) expected the number of their employees aged over 60 to increase by 2020, and 22 per cent expect it to increase significantly. Technology giant Philips, which employs 15,000 people in the Benelux countries, has seen its average age increase from 41 to 44.3 years over the past decade. In 2007, 26 per cent of its staff were over 50. Now, that figure has increased to 32 per cent, while the proportion of its workforce under 30 has fallen from 8.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent. Sarah Harper, a professor from the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, believes the argument that older workers are preventing the progression and skills development of younger workers is outshone by the benefits of employing older staff. She says: “Employers need older workers. The idea that they are just hanging around is a fallacy. People are well educated and can and want to stay working, and making a vital contribution to their organisation until well into their sixties and seventies. What’s more, because of their vast experience; they have learned how to do their job quickly and efficiently, and in many ways are more productive than younger people who are new to the job.” The concern for younger staff is that without sufficient turnover, their opportunity to learn and progress in their career will be impaired. However, Jörg Dietz, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Associate Dean for Faculty at HEC Lausanne, the affiliated business school of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, believes that the extended presence of competent older workers can actually create jobs for others. He says: “We are talking about skilled labour here, but in my view, having these very experienced and skilled employees remain in the workforce for another couple of years would not be considered to have a negative impact on job opportunities for younger employees. “The question we should be asking is ‘who is skilled?’ not ‘how old are they?’” he says. “As long as we retain and continue to develop competent people, they will contribute to the organisation’s success and, ultimately, create new jobs.” If you enjoyed the above diversity blog then you might also appreciate the following: Get the organisational culture right and the diversity will follow 4 business benefits of diversity Tales from the top: gender diversity QA with Carla Rebelo, MD of Hays Brazil Facing diversity Gender diversity: still a long way from equality More female leaders, please Join the discussion and network with other HR professionals in our HR Insights with Hays group. Join the conversation View the  Hays Journal online, via the Hays Journal iPad app or request a printed copy from  haysjournal@hays.com h3strong Share this blog: /strong/h3