*originally appeared in Supply Professional magazine April 2024, p6
The Canadian workforce and the companies they work for are facing unchartered territory in the years ahead. The future labour market will see the number of people entering the workforce be less than the number of people leaving, presenting a variety of challenges for companies to deal with.
A Statistics Canada[i] labour force survey from November 2023 found there were 2.7 million Canadians aged 15-24 that say they are employed compared to 4.4 million people 55 and older. That same study also shows a big discrepancy in the total population of Canadians 15 to 24 years of age with 4.7 million compared to those aged 55 and older, with 12.4 million people.
From labour shortages to retaining workers and providing alternatives for traditional work environments, companies will need to look at how they operate and put strategies and policies into place to manage the changing workforce demographic.
Value of Experienced Workers
Older workers are critical to a company for the knowledge, experience, and skills they have accumulated during their career. Those qualities combined with a strong work ethic make them desirable employees the company should try to hold onto for as long as possible.
In manufacturing, older workers who have more experience and skills are considered crucial to maintaining a high level of quality and productivity. The concern with those workers retiring is it could lead to a decline in product quality potentially leading to unhappy customers/clients and lost revenue. An outcome no company wants to see happen.
Health Care, Transportation and Construction are some of the areas expected to be most affected by a labour shortage. Retaining older workers for longer will help alleviate the issue which may require additional training and upskilling to keep current with updated technology.
Experienced workers are instrumental in the training and development of younger workers. Processes should be put in place to encourage knowledge transfer from older employees to younger employees through documentation, hands on training, and group training sessions with the goal of sharing and exchanging information, thereby retaining the expertise from the experienced workers.
How to Accommodate Older Employees
The journey to retirement looks different these days. Supply Chain companies need to be prepared to meet older employees where they are in this process by offering more work options. Traditional work arrangements will not be attractive to older works heading into retirement.
In the past, people worked in their chosen career and then immediately retired, current trends indicate a more gradual ease into full retirement. The path to retirement could include reduced work week hours, bridge jobs and short-term contracts or consulting gigs. All or some of these steps can be on the path people take to retirement. Companies that continue to push traditional work weeks and roles run the risk of alienating their older workforce or losing them to other companies that offer the options they are looking for.
Part of the older workforce may opt to continue working past the age of 65 in some capacity either because they can’t afford to retire or want to work longer to save more money. In 2022, working seniors accounted for 5% of Canadians employed.[ii] Seniors who want to continue working may be looking for non traditional work arrangements similar to pre retirement workers. As it will get more difficult to fill roles, it would benefit companies to try to find ways to extend the careers of their older employees for those who want that opportunity.
Attracting New Talent
The competition to fill jobs will be fierce, with more people leaving the workforce than coming into it. To be top of mind to potential employees, companies can implement programs to attract and retain younger talent earlier. Internships, co-op programs or apprenticeships are a great way to target college/university students and introduce them to the industry and company before they start their careers.
The younger workforce puts more emphasis on qualities like respect, relationships, and social interactions. Companies should be looking at their work culture and how to improve onboarding processes. Including mentoring and social events with the intention of integrating newer employees with experienced ones early on will help facilitate newer employees feeling more comfortable to seek help and ask questions when they need help.
Younger workers are more drawn to flexible schedules, especially remote and hybrid working environments. Adapting office policies to accommodate those requirements will help companies be attractive to younger workers.
The ageing workforce does present a variety of challenges to Supply Chain industries and companies. There are ways to minimize the impact of those challenges. The important thing is to start implementing change now so employees and employers can plan for that future.
[i] Statistics Canada, Labour force characteristics by province, monthly, seasonally adjusted
[ii] CTV News article: What to expect from Canada’s labour market as the workforce age
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