Retaining older employees in the workforce is part of the solution to avoid the skills crisis Canada is on the verge of experiencing.
In its discussion paper, Incenting Seniors to Continue Working, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce reinforces the argument that the time is right to look at removing disincentives that discourage seniors from working.
The paper examines key concerns that need to be addressed in order to pave the way for retention of older workers.
“By the start of the next decade, people old enough to leave the labour force will outnumber those old enough to join it. In Canada, we predict a labour shortage of nearly one million people by 2020,” said Perrin Beatty, chamber president and CEO. “We have been talking about this challenge for years, it’s time to start looking at concrete solutions.
“Seniors possess the essential skills employers need. Many want to continue working and view work as an important part of their life balance.”
Beatty said the chamber believes a new business culture aimed at retaining, rather than replacing, senior workers is the correct approach to pursue.
“In Canada, we tend to think of ourselves as a young and growing country,” he said. “The hard reality is that we are, in fact, a rapidly aging nation – one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world.
“We must ask ourselves how to best address the impact of this looming demographic crunch, which, left unmitigated, will result in lost business competitiveness, fiscal pressures on younger generations, declining economic growth, lower per-capita output and a lower quality of life for Canadians.
For more information, please go to http://hr50.ca/pdfs/crunch.pdf.
