1. Aging of the American Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, Challenges

2. 1. Why WIA/One-Stops Should Pay Attention to Older Workers
2. Why Employers Should be Concerned

3. It's A Demographic Revolution

4. IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS
The country is growing older, and the workforce along with it
As the baby boom reaches retirement age, there will be fewer young adults entering the workforce to replace them
These trends will have economic and productivity consequences, putting a strain on business/industry
Continuous work at some level (ft/pt) - increasingly important & desirable for older people and society as a whole

5. GROWING OLD IN AMERICA TODAY
Radically different than it was for previous generations
Today: healthier, better educated, more willing to work into the later years
Chronology = Competence
To stay competitive as new sources of labor become scarce, employers must not overlook this talented and largely untapped employee base

6. The U.S. Workforce is Aging
Baby Boomers come of age
30% of Americans are boomers (83 million)
By % of Americans will be 65+
By 2005:
median worker age 41
workers 45+ will comprise 40% of the workforce
Workforce will continue to age through oldest boomers begin to retire

7. The Economy is Hot [or at least luke-warm]
Local labor markets extremely tight
: BLS projects 14% increase in employment
Pay scales driven higher; benefit packages increasing
Companies beginning to look to new sources of labor supply

8. RETIREMENT TRENDS
Growing indication the early retirement trend is leveling off
Growth in jobs/declining unemployment creates demand for all workers
Increasing popularity of bridge jobs (gradual retirement)

9. LOW-INCOME BOOMERS
9 million boomers (today aged 35-54) did not graduate from high school
incomes 12% lower than for similarly educated persons in their parents’ generation
US will soon see an increase in the number of poor, aging adults
As the tail of the “bulge” reaches age 45, low-income mature workers will soon increase by 25% [from 8 to 10 million]

10. Florida (the retirement state) today:
18% of population 65+

11. with at least 18% of population 65+
U.S. in 2025: states
with at least 18% of population 65+

12. ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES
Dependency ratio
1950: 7 working age persons to 1 elderly person
2030: ratio will dwindle to less than 3 to 1
Increasing work participation rate of older Americans would:
add to the productivity of the workforce
alleviate strains on the US economy
increase private saving and reduce the burden on public resources through higher tax revenues

13. DEMAND FOR OLDER WORKERS
As workers retire, the economy loses valuable work experience
Improvement in work-readiness of young workers needed to meet ever-higher skill requirements of the economy cannot be taken as a given
Older workers are productive, reliable, trainable, with a high work ethic and customer service focus

14. NECESSITY OF LIFELONG LEARNING
Key factor to productivity (of all workers) is skill level and training
For most mature Americans there are few physical or cognitive barriers to work and learning new skills
Employers and workers must both work towards closing the technology training gap

15. Age & Income Affect Training Needs
Common stereotypes portray older workers as:
Harder to train
Less able to keep up with technological change
Less promotable
Less motivated

16. Older Workers are not a Homogenous Lot
Different needs … Different strategies
Dislocated workers
Women [displaced homemakers]
Low income

17. Training Implications
Training for older workers needs to be slowed down
Vision and hearing changes require attention
Older workers prefer less formal seating arrangements
Training proceeds better in comfortable classroom environments
Shorter sessions are more effective
The training class is best when kept small

18. Some Things to Remember
Older people perform better on self-paced tests than they do on timed tests
When both words and pictures (graphics) are used, older persons can retain 6 times more information
It’s much easier for older people to see yellow, orange & red than darker colors
Greater levels of illumination are needed (an average 60 yr. old’s eye admits only  as much light as a 20 yr. old)

19. The Training Process
Training focus should be on the gains of experience
Older workers learn what they think they need to learn
Trainees need help with self-confidence and self-esteem issues
Older trainees value non-verbal rather than verbal training

20. Adults learn by doing
The training process should be slowed down --- self paced learning works best
Training should have ample opportunities for practice
Testing should be used sparingly
Relate training to skills already possessed

21. Average Retention Rate
Adults Learn by Doing
Method
Lecture
Reading
Audio Visual
Demonstrations
Discussions
Practice (experiential)
Average Retention Rate 5%
10%
20%
30%
50%
75%

22. Barriers to Labor Market Participation
Government policies and practices
Financial incentives to retire
Health care
Public/Private Employer policies and practices
Age stereotypes
Pensions
Training and retraining
Individual barriers
Rapid technological change (new occupations/skills)

23. Promising Program and Practices
SCSEP (Title V of the OAA) is a viable One-Stop Partner to Meet Demographic Needs
100,000 served, 35,000 placed annually
Outreach & recruitment
Counseling
Assessment, IDP development
Subsidized work experience & training
Job development & placement

24. STRATEGIES TO CONSIDER

25. Working Together to Meet Goals As a partner, SCSEP can ...
Provide training to One-Stop staff to prepare them to better serve older workers
Ensure specialized assistance is available for older workers to effectively utilize the One-Stops [staffing strategies]
Ensure One-Stops accommodate the special needs of older workers
Assist One-Stop job developers to include job opportunities for older workers

26. Ensure One-Stops have necessary linkages & partnerships to ensure availability of specialized training for older workers
System linkages to facilitate access to support services needed by older workers
Assist One-Stops with an outreach & recruitment plan that includes older workers and minority older workers
Assign project participants to serve as mentors to school-to-work and welfare-to-work participants
Provide employer linkages

27. An Older Worker Policy Makes Good Business & Political Sense
Demographic and Economic Imperative:
Employers facing labor force drop-off due to retirements will have to adapt in some way
Political Imperative:
Extending work lives may help reduce younger workers’ burden supporting retirees (Social Security & Medicare)
The SCSEP as your partner can assist you in meeting the needs of older job seekers.

28. NEED FURTHER INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE?

29. OLDER WORKER PROGRAMMING RESOURCES
DoL/ETA Technical Assistance Guides
 Using the Workforce Investment Act to Serve Mature and Older Workers
 One-Stop Training Curriculum for Older Worker Specialists
 Different Needs, Different Strategies: A Manual for Training Low-Income Older Workers
 An Employer’s Guide to Older Workers: How to Win Them Back and Convince Them to Stay
SCSEP WEBSITE:

30. OLDER WORKER PROGRAMMING RESOURCES
To obtain (free) copies of Technical Assistance Guides, contact:
David Richardson
US Department of Labor, D/OWP
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Rm N4644
Washington, DC
Phone:
Fax: