Workforce Blogs
Home
Complete archive of features and news articles, sample policies and procedures, assessments, and surveys.
Network and exchange ideas with other members in the forums or ask an expert in one of the hosted forums.
Access vendor directories, product case studies and showcases.
Read Best in Shows, view our conference calendar, read commentaries and take our news poll.
The Hot List
Blogs
Topic Channels
Comp, Benefits, Rewards
HR Management
Legal Insight
Recruiting and Staffing
Software and Technology
Training and Development
= Member Only
Workforce HR Jobs
Post Your Job
Post Your Resume



Subscribe Now
Workforce Magazine
Subscriber Help
























= Member Only


Blog: The Business of Management
 

September 13th, 2007

The ‘Talent-Shortage Myth,’ Revisited

Last month, I jumped headfirst into what I consider to be a very debatable topic—the Talent-Shortage Myth.

My point was that I don’t believe the gloom-and-doom talk of a huge talent shortage once the baby boomers start retiring. “That’s not to say that there won’t be worker shortages in some specific areas (think nurses or other health care workers, for example),” I wrote in this blog, “but the notion that the baby-boom generation will retire in lockstep once they hit age 65 is ridiculous.

We’ve said it in numerous stories in Workforce Management, like in this story by Ed Frauenheim.”

Many of you wrote back to tell me I was wrong, or that you believed I was right, or that the problem was complex and had other elements that I wasn’t addressing. The comments were pointed and heartfelt.

And, they added some interesting and thoughtful elements to the discussion.

Well, here’s a little more fuel for the fire. Earlier this week, I read a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the latest census numbers that seem to show that “Retirement age doesn’t mean 65.”

“Minnesota State Demographer Tom Gillaspy said two distinct forces are causing seniors to work longer,” the story noted. “One is necessity. ‘Many have not saved a tremendous amount for retirement,’ he said. The other is the lack of replacement workers, especially for executive positions and jobs that require years of training. ‘Some businesses will try to keep skilled workers in the workforce longer,’ Gillaspy said.”

This just reinforces my point: Yes, we are facing some large demographic changes in the workforce, and businesses need to plan for them, but all the gloom-and-doom talk of a giant worker shortage may just end up being more myth than reality.


TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://workforce.com/wpmu/bizmgmt/2007/09/13/talent_shortage_revisted/trackback/




Post a comment

This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots. (see: www.captcha.net)

You must read and type the 5 chars within 0..9 and A..F, and submit the form.

  

Please, generate a





Blog Index







Recent Posts

Blog Archives

Categories



Recent Comments

Other Workforce Blogs

Blog Roll







Copyright © 1995-2007 Crain Communications Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement