The Talent Shortage

The Talent Shortage Talent Shortage Emerges as No. 1 Employer Concern Our population will begin to shrink and our workforce will dry up. Schools in peril across Ontario Census Points to shrinking households Retirement of baby boomers may reverberate in workplace,Enrollment Shrinking, says education minister, The Talent Shortage Myth, The Immigration Squeeze These are only a few of the headlines we are being inundated with concerningtheprojections of a severe talent and skills shortage in our North American labour market. While some believe it is directly related to the aging baby boomer population, there are those whoattribute it to our declining population and the significant reduction in education enrollment. Of course everyone has their opinion,as reported inarticles contendingthetalent shortageis nothing more than a myth anda hoax,comparable to the Y2K scare. On the myth side, I found it difficult tofind statistics andpertinent links to information.It appears thatthe main reason thetalent shortage is believed to bea myth,is thefact that we cant predict retirement patterns andworkers will work longer.Im pretty sure both sides willagree, based on history, statisticsand plain old common sense that although 76 million baby boomers will be eligible for retirement, it is highly unlikely that they willall retirethe same day. The statisticsand surveys available that support the prediction of atalent shortage relate to more thanjust the number of baby boomers that will beretiring. Here are just a few: KathleenWynne, Minister of Education reported, Sixty of the 72 school boards in Ontario are in declining enrolment right now. Next year there will be 90,000fewer students in our schools than there were in 2003. The Toronto District School Board, Canadas largest, is dealing with the loss of4,000 students annually. Over the past five years, the number of students inOntario public and Catholic schools fell by 63,000 or 3.2% 2.1 million. Its projected to fall by another72,000 or 3.8% over the next five years, says Queens Park. According toStatistics Canada 2006 census, 41.4 % of families were couples with children, while 42.7 were families made up of childless couples.This was the first time childless couples surpassed those with children. Smaller and smaller families has been evident in census reportsfor most of the past century. According to James White, aprofessor of social work and family studies, If the trend continues, Canadians will no longer be producing enough children to replace themselves as they die. Our population will begin to shrink and our workforce will dry up. That could have dire effects on our economy. The decline will coincide with the aging of our population, and a mass exodus of baby boomers from the workforce, further straining our countrys financial and social systems. On a global scale, fertility rates are as follows: Canada 1.5, U.S. 2.05, China 1.34,UK 1.71, Spain 1.29, Italy 1.29, Finland 1.75.A replacement birth rate is 2.1 children per couple. John O. Burdett, author of myth magic mindset, writes, We are in the midst of a new plague one where 25% of the workforce is about to retire; talented individuals who, because of their sheer numbers combined with the drop in the birth rate since the early 60s, cannot be replaced. Linda Duxbury, a Professor at Carlton University in Ottawa, suggests that, because of their committment and work ethic, every two retiring baby boomers will need three new workers to replace them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, there will only be 75.6 million workers entering the workforce to replace the 78 million baby boomers who will gradually be making their way out of the workforce by the year 2014. A shortage of skilled and talented workers has become the most pressing concern among employers, according to the 14th annual Top Five Total Rewards Priorities survey conducted by Deloitte Consulting LLP (Deloitte) and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS). The Department of Homeland Security issued a preliminary regulation that extends the time that foreign graduates in science, technology, engineering or mathematics can work for a U.S. company on a student visa. Robert Hoffman, vice president of government and public affairs for Oracle and co-chair of Compete America, a coaliton of technology companies said, The administration has clearly recognized through this action that there is a severe skills shortage in the economy. Corporate America is facing a potentially mammoth talent crunch, the National Association of Manufacturers warns in a new report. We will need to addressthe obvious changes that are occurring in our societytoday regardless of whether we agree on what theexact implications are or will be.We are already seeing some positive steps being taken by employers and government agencies in addressing the talent shortage issue and if we continue on a positive track, those who believe it to be, at best, a demographic ripple and not the giant tidal wave they want us to believe, according to John Hollon at Workforce Management, willhave predicted correctly. Personally,I believeit will be the proactiveactions ofthoseacknowledging the talent shortage thatwill be responsible for diminishing the potential for any disastrous effects.