For every two people retiring there is only one person in the pipeline to replace them.
Those retirees are workaholic baby -boomers, the young people coming into the job market reject that generational addiction for long hours and poor work-life balance, "so really, we're going to need three people to replace two." -- Carleton University professor Linda Duxbury and Rosemarie Leclair, CEO of Hydra Ottawa, leadership conference April 2010.
These comments again outline just how important it has become to enhance the skills of long-term employees giving them the opportunity to increase their worth to the company and be positioned to meet the changes taking place within all resource industries today.
The value of current employees has been grossly undermined in the workplace for decades and now as the baby boomers move to retirement, or semi- retirement, the new worker presents a challenge to an old way of thinking regarding the work force of yesterday, and the new generation work force.
As the economy rebounds, skilled and knowledgeable workers will be a valuable asset to any company, as the new generation is more transient and less inclined to make the long-term commitment, if the employer can't facilitate their personal expectations.
Positioning investment in the present work force will give confidence to long-tenured workers, also new employees, and improving competitiveness within the sector of resource industries, and also save government programs millions as today's work force gains skills needed for new technology introduced or employment adjustments that result from economics.
People who are prepared for change, with diversified skills, are more able to adjust and therefore reducing the pressure on government-funded programs, while also reducing the stress level on those who are displaced, or feeling vulnerable in the very changing labour market
Frank Everitt,
president USW local 1-424,
Brian O'Rourke,
Prince George
