Research & Writing

An Aging World At Work

Symposium on New Issues in Retirement – September 5 – 6, 2003

Statistics Canada

The Older Worker in the Workplace and in the Labour MarketBackground Paper - August 22, 2003

Examining Issues for Work and the Older Worker in an Aging World

By Mark Venning
International President Elect,
Association of Career Professionals International

An Aging World at Work

Several human issues dominate the global workplace and labour market as we move through the first decade of the new century and one of the most challenging is the future of work and older workers in an aging world.

In Canada and many other countries we have entered a ten year period 2001 to 2011 where the aging world agenda is prompting discussion on policies related to redefining work, work relationships, retirement – and, the aging process itself.

In an excerpt from the introductory chapter of the United Nations paper “World Aging Situation 2000”, Nitin Desai says aging is life long:

“age-adjusted policies and programs that encourage workplace flexibility, lifelong learning and healthy lifestyles, especially during transitional periods, e.g. youth to midlife, midlife to later years, can influence choices with accumulative effects. A clear priority target for old age policies are the younger generations, who may have to reinvent themselves again and again in fast changing societies....Environments for growth, learning and moving toward fulfillment should be within the reach of us all. What we are learning today about the extraordinary range of abilities and interests of older persons can help us in the task of creating such environments and remove obstacles for new generations.”

As Nitin Desai suggests that younger generations “may have to reinvent themselves in fast changing societies”, the same can be said for older generations. We will all need to adapt to a reinvention process if we are to manage our transitions.

Human Resources journals and reports, business books and other organizational policy papers have catalogued the issues related to an aging workforce that have become more critical for business leaders and human resources professionals in a time when recruitment and retention of the best talent is a top priority.

A recent survey produced by the United Nations (2001) documents the projected growth in the percentage of population aged 65 and older from 2000 to 2020 for 8 developed countries.

Country 2000 2020 % Change (2000 – 2020)

Japan 17.1 26.2 53.7
Canada 12.8 18.2 42.9
Australia 12.1 16.8 39.2
New Zealand 11.6 15.6 33.7
USA 12.5 16.6 32.8
Germany 16.4 21.8 31.9
France 15.9 20.1 26.4
UK 16.0 19.8 23.6

Looking at Canada’s shifting demographics, coming second to Japan in highest percentage of growth, it would suggest that adjustments to workforce strategies should be reviewed to handle the retiring flow of older workers and meet the cost of supporting the aging population. Making career choices for older workers more flexible and fluid, into what we’ve known up to now as traditional retirement years, is an exercise worth a refocus for employment policies and practices.

Countless material has been written in the last few years since 1999 on subjects that fall out from this reality of an aging workforce. Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) in its May 2002 report “Challenges of and Aging Workforce”, estimates that by 2011, approximately 41% of the working population will be between the ages of 45 and 64 compared to about 35% in 2001. It is also worth noting in the same report that nearly 12% of the population aged 65 to 69 were active in the workforce (Statistics Canada, “Labour Force Historical Review, 2001”)

There is enough anecdotal evidence gathered by the Career Services profession to suggest that the attitude of the baby boomer generation towards work and retirement might actually increase the 12% participation rate of people aged 65 to 69 and beyond.

OI Partners Inc, a global career consulting partnership conducts ongoing surveys with older workers in career transition and in the June 2003 summary report, the top 4 reasons retirement age persons are interested in finding new work are:

financial concerns
need to be productive
need to feel useful
camaraderie / sense of belonging

Over 40% of the career consultants at OI Partners also reported that approximately 2/3rd of their retirement age people are looking for work and interestingly for people aged 60 and over, after their health; concerns over finances and finding or losing a job appear to be linked.

Two further research questions for Canadian society that should be explored as an extension of the issues discussed here are:

“What will the contributions of larger numbers of older workers transitioning to retirement be and what will work and the workplace look like in a “late life society” of the future?

How will these contributions be chronicled, measured and valued in terms of national productivity?

Questions for Organizations

With a greater percentage of baby boomers (1946 – 1966) reaching the traditional retirement years and exiting organizations over the next decade, some of the key questions for organizations in both the private and public sector include the following:

How will the potential skills and labour shortages forecasted by many industries and professions have an effect on productivity and innovation, recruitment and retention?

How will work and working relationships need to be re-defined to be relevant across generational lines to maintain productivity and work satisfaction levels?

How will pension and benefits plans need to be modified for older workers?

What HR policies should be in place in order to create incentive for older workers to stay in the workplace so as to offset potential skills and labour shortages, transfer knowledge and know-how, retain corporate history and mentor younger workers?

What should the organization’s responsibility be towards the individual older worker with respect to workplace satisfaction, career management and the transition to retirement?

Reponses to the Questions

Organizations around the world are facing these questions but more conclusive research and statistics need to be formulated to get a handle on just how many organizations are paying attention to the aging world agenda in the first place, how many organizations know the age profile of their workers and how many have policies or programs that affect older workers; either under review or updated and in progress.

Collaboration between government, education, human resources professionals and career services professionals could help position this conversation on the national agenda by first creating more awareness with organizations. In a proactive response, a business forum for all stakeholders could be created to address the issues across all sectors while at the same time developing public conversations with older workers themselves.

One study “Valuing Experience: How to Retain and Motivate Older Workers” (April 2003) by Howard Munson for the Conference Board in the USA, says that few large companies approach systematic HR planning with resourcefulness and energy in response to economic ups and downs. Of the 150 HR executives interviewed in the report, 66% reported that their organizations don’t have an age profile of their workforce which suggests that they lack hard data on how retirements will affect various divisions and business units.

Beverly Goldberg, in her book “Age Works- What Corporate America Must Do to Survive the Graying of the Workforce” (2000) asks the question, “What will it take to make the transition to an older workforce as fruitful as possible for older workers, corporate America and society?”

Goldberg points out that corporate leadership has not seemed ready to face the issue for several reasons; ”There are always more immediate economic problems for younger leaders of organizations to focus on that will affect profits in the short term and … there are some who believe that labour shortages from older workers retiring will be solved by technology advances.” In addition she says that older business leaders may be planning to retire themselves and don’t see the need to invest in retirement solutions to retention.

Specific solutions to skills and labour shortages, workplace conditions, professional development and career management issues have been widely explored. Strategies can be activated within an organization at any time given the will of the people and a budget to implement. These include strategies that focus on the retention of older workers who may be struggling to stay motivated, open to changing their work arrangements or looking to transition to retirement from the organization.

1. Work Arrangements

Flexible work options that can include flex time, telecommuting, job sharing or reduction to part time.

Phased retirement after the employee reaches an agreed peak of 65, gradually reducing work load and time on the job until an agreed full retirement date.

Bridged employment for a defined short term on special assignments or projects.

Rehiring retirees on a contract basis for specific needs such as maternity leave, vacation coverage, special projects or peak business periods.

Mentoring roles where older experienced workers and retired employees teach or coach younger workers.

Establishing roles for older workers as spokesperson or ambassador for the organization in recruitment or other marketing initiatives.

2. Workplace Conditions

Enhance the workplace environment and ergonomics to relieve strain and stress and improve performance.

Evaluate benefits to reflect older worker needs such as health and fitness, elder care or other family care.

Improve work-life integration policy by setting realistic expectations for work hours.

Implement more frequent information sessions on pensions, benefits and late life career options; and to solicit ideas for improvements to workplace conditions.

3. Professional Development & Career Management

There are perceptions on the part of some organizations that older workers don’t need or want professional development or career management in the later stages of their work life; or that the organization will not benefit in the long term from the investment. While there may be many examples of older workers who have not kept up with on the job training or other professional development opportunities, these perceptions are not accurate in an age where more older workers are in tune with life long learning. Nor is it accurate that older workers and their organizations don’t benefit from a career management strategy.

To present profitable learning opportunities and provide a continuous challenge in their career the following solutions would also help to engage and retain older workers.

Develop learning programs that align with the needs of the organization and a professional development plan linked with the older workers performance needs.

Conduct self directed skills, interests, needs and values assessments as part of a bi-annual career planning exercise.

Create inter-generational networking opportunities to promote better understanding of differing attitudes, cross-coaching or mentoring.

Explore opportunities for valued performers with diverse competencies to move cross functionally in the organization rather than stagnate in the same position.

Provide pre-retirement planning seminars that focus on non-financial issues including examination of late life career management plans, options for flexible work arrangements, adapting to post organizational life and understanding of the aging process.

Changing the culture of some organizations to incorporate these retention strategies may be necessary if they are faced with potential loss of talent in a difficult employment market. The efforts to stimulate cultural change, address retirement issues and to advocate “late life career options” for older workers are areas of opportunity for Human Resource Professionals and Career Management consultants who work with organizations.

In their Leadership Survey 2000, “Where Did All the Workers Go? The Challenges of the Aging Workforce”, the Canadian Labour and Business Centre presented an analysis of some of the views of management and labour in both the public and private sector. The following is a summary of some the results from the Management responses by size of organization to issues related to retirement.

Larger organizations (1000+) are more active in addressing the replacement of retirees than small firms (1 – 99) reflecting the older age structure of workforces in larger organizations.

The frequency of certain employee related retirement issues is higher in medium (100 – 999) and large organizations than in small organizations… requests for phased-in retirement, pre-retirement counselling, training and the issue of absenteeism.

Managers in larger organizations (69%) perceive that retirement issues have increased in importance relative to other human resource issues.

4. Impact of Shortages on Productivity

A report issued by the Commission on Global Aging for the Center for Strategic & International Studies (April 2002), suggests that labour shortages caused by retiring baby boomers will slow productivity growth for the fasted aging countries in the world. From this three-year study, key recommendations aging countries should take to help include:

Lower the fiscal exposure of governments to aging and depopulation and enable retirees in slow-growing countries to diversify there retirement finances by:

Gradually replacing pay-as-you-go pension financing with market-based financing supplemented by a contingent state guarantee of minimum benefits.

Gradually reducing pension benefits where excessive levels of income replacement create disincentives to work and save.

Establishing market-financed employer pensions in nations where they do not now exist.

Increasing retirement ages in correspondence with life spans.

Encourage greater labour force participation by older persons by restraining mandatory retirement and other age discrimination, eliminating incentives to retire from social protection schemes and eliminating seniority-based pay schemes.

Reform economic and labour market regulations that hinder productivity by:

Relaxing rules that prevent employers from discharging and freely contracting with workers.

Introducing or expanding competition in sectors of the economy where market forces are now limited – especially in services.

Assuring well-regulated capital markets.

5. Re-gearing for Changes to Mandatory Retirement

The Ontario government’s recent proposal to eliminate mandatory retirement is a positive step towards improving age discrimination and increasing options for retaining older workers. In a article titled “Valued Workers Could Stay After 65” by Virginia Galt in the Globe & Mail (May 2, 2003), lawyer Stewart Saxe a partner with Baker & McKenzie states, “The biggest impact is going to be on people who are just short of 65, the 62 to 64 year-olds”. The article continues around the discussion of performance management. “The most highly regarded and productive employees will be invited to stay on, but the less productive could find themselves pushed out before they reach 65.”

The Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizens’ Organizations (OCSCO), in response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission consultation paper “The Changing Face of Ontario: Discrimination and Our Aging Population”, supports seniors to become involved in society by conducting specialized programs for older workers. In its response to specific issues facing older persons in employment, OCSCO believes that employees have the right to work for as long as they desire and provided that they are able to meet the performance requirements of the work being performed.

Even more, suggests OCSCO, employers should not be privy to the age of their employees. Such a policy they say is supported by gerontological research which strongly indicates that chronological age is a poor indicator of functional ability. This is a stretch goal considering existing employment rules allow for giving date of birth to employers after the hiring decision.

But even with open attitudes towards eliminating mandatory retirement, does this reflect the reality of attitudes in older workers? The “Freedom 55” mentality propagated over the last 20 years has kept many people living the dream to retire early. Quoted in the Canadian HR Reporter article “Wave of Retirements Coming, Few Organizations Getting Ready”, (May 5, 2003), a survey conducted by Desjardins Financial Security of 1000 Canadians, 68% said they would not consider returning to work once they retire, even if they received an ideal offer to work full time in their dream job.

So it appears there is a paradox – on one hand, a future where organizations are going to lose valuable older experienced workers, some aware of how to utilize retention strategies and some not focused or ready for it; and on the other hand some older workers – viewing retirement as a time to reinvent their lifestyle and not work and others who need or want to work to continue building their source of income.

Concerns of Older Workers

1. Career Transition

As experienced through the downsizings and layoffs of the 1990’s that continue today in 2003, many older workers still take longer to get rehired and vast numbers have given up looking for work or sought alternatives to traditional employment.

Career Transition or Outplacement firms keep statistics on the length of an average work search by age profile and depending on variables like a downturn in the economy or the individual’s personal attitude and ability to conduct an effective full time search; the average search can take 6 months or more for someone over the age of 50. This is approximately 40% longer than the average for someone under the age of 50.

There are several discriminatory perceptions about hiring older workers even with the laws in place to prevent age discrimination. A typical top 5 list of perceptions usually state that older workers are:

Stuck in old ways of thinking
Unwilling to move with change
Lacking in technical skills
Of greater risk for health issues
More costly to hire

One other reported perception is that older workers find it hard to work with a younger generation and in particular if a younger person is their manager. Some of that may be brought on by older workers themselves. A complaint on the part of younger workers is that older workers have an “I know better than you do” attitude, which can create stress in communications.

Inter-generational issues in the workplace have been addressed by specialists in this area. Two recent books offer excellent approaches to better understanding and communication for workers of all ages.

In the book “When Generations Collide” (2002) by Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman, the authors frame the reality by promoting “ageless thinking”.

“For the first time in our history, we have four separate and distinct generations working… face to face in a stressful, competitive workplace…. One needs to adopt an “ageless thinking” attitude and look at how each generation shares a common history.”

Considering the complaints by older workers about age perceptions in an aging society this is worthy advice. Over the next 10 years the generational profile of the workplace will shift again and the benefits of inter-generational knowledge sharing will be tested.

Profiles of generational characteristics and practical case studies for inter-generational management are also well laid out in “Generations At Work” (2000) by Ron Zenke, Claire Raines and Bob Filipczak.

In balance, many organizations recognize the fact that hiring an older worker has major benefits. Coaching by career professionals suggests older workers need to positively communicate using specific real examples and offer their services on these and other advantages unique to themselves:

a well developed set of skills, knowledge and experience
competencies that are transferable between organizations
strong work ethics - sound judgement and wisdom
reliability - attendance and punctuality, commitment to task
flexible to change

Flexibility to change can be another negative perception to a hiring organization if they look at a career history where an older worker has been with the same organization for a long period of time. In the book, “Rewired, Rehired or Retired?”, (2002), Robert K Critchley advises:

“a potential employer may interpret longevity as a sign that you are risk averse, lack confidence and are inflexible…. Obviously you cannot change the facts of your career. But quite possibly your career has been a complete success within one organization…. It is possible to break down the inflexibility myth by demonstrating a personal history of multiple careers within the umbrella of one organization.”

To some degree while negative perceptions will persist, older workers are encouraged to concentrate on positioning themselves positively and to explore their options for employment with an open mind. Contract work, often project based, may be one option that leverages the employability of the older worker. At mid to senior levels notably in professional services and the IT industry, older workers have been increasing their options for employment by being open to contract positions, (not to be confused with part time work).

Framed in a defined period of time typically anywhere from 1 to 12 months the relationship may be that as a contracted employee or that of an independent contractor. Some of the advantages of a short term contract as experienced by many older workers include:

An opportunity for the contract worker and an organization to mutually evaluate the fit for the position and then convert to a full time opportunity.

Demonstrate flexibility - with a short learning curve can prove they can “hit the dirt running”.

Opportunity to build on competencies and develop new contacts otherwise missed in previous jobs.

Opportunity to build a business as a consultant.

Bridge employment gaps - answers inactivity that may appear on a resume.

To validate the trend in various industries and job categories it is difficult to get specific statistics on contract work as a form of working arrangement. However this can be one opportunity for further research as it separates the option from the traditional classification of temporary or part time work in a future where options for older workers in a knowledge based market are geared around specific expertise applied to short term projects.

2. The Bridge Years to Retirement

In a report titled “Life and Work Issues in an Aging World” from a discussion forum at the14th annual World conference of the Association of Career Professionals International in Puerto Rico (June 2003), 40 career professionals representing 11 countries summarized that older
experienced workers:

Feel marginalized, targeted or stereotyped in the workplace
Explore deeper meaning in life and work and desire to make a contribution
Need help to reassess, reinvent or reconnect their inherent skills and interests
Seek to retrain and become life long learners
Want or need to continue working in different ways beyond the “retirement” age
Need support with ongoing financial, health care and elder care issues

Further to this, the ACP International conference report also states:

“If the promise of long term full time employment or security belongs to a by gone day and career management has shifted from the organization to the individual’s responsibility, even in countries such as Japan, then the process of exploring options is vital and even more heightened for older workers still too young to retire who want or need to work. Retaining older workers in different ways should be explored and career professionals could partner with clients and organizations to find better ways to position employment relationships.”

Of the older workers who have been re-employed or who have seldom moved from one employer, many have experienced a stressful environment in the workplace and are either feeling under challenged and thinking about early retirement or concerned about whether or not they can afford to retire.

So from a life and career planning perspective, personal and professional concerns are on the list for the older worker and should be taken into serious consideration by organizations. These concerns are emerging in the conversations between career consultants in the career services profession and older experienced workers exploring their career direction as they transition into retirement.

The concept of retirement has changed and it is becoming more and more viewed as another phase of life where work is part of “life’s portfolio” or “life’s cycle” for an more extended period of time. A “portfolio of work” can be a combination of paid and unpaid work, short term and multi-faceted; drawing from different interests and abilities, inside and outside a person’s core career path.

This approach to viewing retirement as a phase in “life’s cycle” is not a new one but certainly is gaining more attention in the minds of many people in the “baby boom generation”. In a discussion paper written for the Canadian Policy Research Networks, (May 2002), Victor W. Marshall and Margaret M. Mueller write an interesting and extensive presentation titled:
“Rethinking Social Policy for an Aging Workforce and Society: Insights from the Life Course Perspective”.

Particular focus is given to mid-life, older worker and retirement issues. In summarizing “Work-to-Retirement Transitions”, Marshall and Mueller conclude:

“…it is apparent that the traditional working life course is breaking down and perhaps being redefined. These changes and their psychological, social and economic implications can be better understood if retirement is viewed in life course terms as a transition in a working trajectory.”

Further stated in their conclusion for general recommendations for a “life-course” sensitive policy:

“Among the issues to be addressed is the need for worker adjustment policy to assist those individuals and cohorts who are out of step with the new realities of the working life course. Another area is that of maintaining labour supply…in a context in which there are differences not only in the size of cohorts but in their life-long social and economic experiences that condition their wants and needs concerning work and retirement.”

Based on personal career consultation meetings with individual clients over the last five years in particular it can be agreed with Marshall and Mueller that there are large numbers of older workers in the workforce right now that are not well prepared for “life’s cycle” transition over the bridge years to retirement and will face a reinvention process regardless of their financial strategies - well planned or not.

According to Statistics Canada as of 1999, the average age of early retirement is 58 in the public sector and 61 in the private sector. But there are concerns older workers have considering early retirement. As a society we are living healthier, longer lives and the new question has become “if you retire early; what are you going to do with your time and how will you manage to pay for it?”

What are you going to do with your time?

Living a further decade or two in retirement from organizational life may be a psychological challenge for many who face adjustment from that routine and the sense of purpose that full time working life brought to them.

Older workers concerned about the bridge years to retirement will need to focus on their values and sense of purpose in their later life cycle much sooner than they may have been prone to do in a previous decade. Individuals currently aged 50 and older should consider looking at jarring their current situation at work by:

adjusting their pace and patterns of work
looking for assignments outside their normal roles
developing other interests or learning opportunities outside the organization
joining a professional association
volunteering for an organization that stands for an issue or cause they care about

How will you manage to pay for it?”

A Globe & Mail article by Elizabeth Church, (May 12, 2003) stated that Canada’s largest corporations face mounting demands on cash and higher expenses because of deepening losses in employee pension plans: “Only 23 of 104 companies on the SandP/TSX index with defined-benefit pension plans showed a funding surplus in 2002. Collectively, these companies saw a pension funding shortfall of more than $18.7 billion in 2002. While most companies say they have the cash to make good – this is cash that won’t be available for other purposes such as reinvesting in the business. This funding crunch comes as the baby boomer bulge enters their retirement years.”

Again in the 2003 survey of 1,000 Canadians by Desjardins Financial Security, only 16% declared a high degree of confidence in their ability to save for retirement but 46% said they wouldn’t be able to save enough to retire. If this is the case then how much will a person depend on other sources of income other than pension or registered retirement savings plans? In the HRDC overview report “Challenges of an Aging Workforce” (2002), workers opting to work in later life after the age of 65 it is stated that paid work would account for 11% of expected retirement income. (“A Study of Investment Attitudes and Intensions for 2002”, Compass Inc.)

In an article “Starting a Business in Retirement, from the magazine “Good Times” (July/August 2000) ”, Olev Edur notes that “tight budgets undoubtedly are also the motivation for many employees continuing to work past 65 (almost 226,000 people age 65-plus earned employment income in 1997).” She quotes that income statistics by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) show 81,690 individuals in that same year, in the same age group, earned an average of $4,495 each from self-employment which was an 80% increase over the 45,520 people reporting income ten years earlier.

More of a trend that should be followed is the move of older workers to Self Employment. Self Employment training in such programs as the HRDC funded Self Employment Assistance Program and the Consulting as a Career Option Program have helped workers of all ages in career transition as have courses and programs in Career Transition firms. The link between late life career options and Self Employment is significant and can be argued is a prerequisite part of pre-retirement planning courses.

Summary for Proactive Research on an Aging World at Work

In an article adapted from testimony delivered by Dr. Gary Geipel to the US Senate Special Committee on Aging, February 27, 2003 for the Hudson Institute Workforce 2020 Report, the following framework is presented for examining the issues related to “global aging and the global workforce”.

“As policymakers and business decision-makers alike begin to grapple with the impact of aging on the workforce, a simple framework – call it the Aging/Workforce Equation – can help them envision the magnitude of the challenge and the range of potential responses.... The equation has four components… general conditions and trends… that challenge global aging to workforce development… national and regional factors.. that exacerbate or mitigate the workforce challenge… policy options… that political and business leaders can manipulate to improve the ability… to navigate the workforce challenge… “wildcard factors”... that have the potential to significantly improve or worsen the assumed problems of aging on a global scale…

Global Aging + Regional Factors + Policy Options + Wildcards = Workforce Outcomes

Policy researchers have compiled a solid body of data and analysis to illuminate the various components of this equation, but they are only beginning to consider how the pieces fit together.”

As we as a society journey to 2020, the course for older workers in an aging world will most likely be more challenging than the previous twenty years. In summary, to prepare ourselves better for the coming years there should be better awareness, understanding and proactive research on the issues in Canada and then shared around the world:

An ongoing business forum for all stakeholders - government, education, human resources and career services professionals, to position this conversation on the national agenda; and to chronicle real time examples for research, the forum would also include rotating groups of older workers from across all sectors and a wide range of expertise.

Examine and rework policies that would make career choices and retirement policies directed to older workers more flexible and fluid, to influence attitudes on the concept of working in later life and to improve national productivity.

Research with Canadians from all walks of life on:

What the contributions of larger numbers of older workers transitioning to retirement will be and what work will look like in a “late life society” of the future.

How these contributions will be chronicled, measured and valued in terms of national productivity.

Gather statistics on how many organizations are paying attention to the aging world agenda, how many organizations know the age profile of their workers and how many have policies or programs that affect older workers; either under review or updated and in progress.

Validate the trend in various industries and job categories by documenting specific statistics on contract work as a form of working arrangement in a distinguished category of work arrangement separate from traditional categories.

Hopefully by broadening the national conversation after the Retirement Symposium in Ottawa, we will be able to discuss how the pieces of the Aging/Workforce Equation come together for Canada on the issues for Work and the Older Worker in an Aging World.

About The Writer of this Background Paper

Mark Venning

Mark Venning is a career strategist and founder of Change Rangers, a career service geared for executives and senior level professionals exploring later life career options.

Uniquely for 50+ Boomer audiences, customized programs are offered to individuals and organizations with people in work search mode or looking to “Rework Retirement”, creating a portfolio career that may include contracting, consulting or entrepreneurship.
From 1996 to 2001 Mark was a career consultant to Bell Canada in their Toronto Career Centre and served as a Senior Consultant at Murray Axmith & Associates (now Right Axmith) for five years From 1994 to 1997, Mark was on the Board of Directors of the Executive Advancement Resource Network (E.A.R.N.) a Work Search Networking Support Group.

Mark is currently on the Board of Directors for Jewish Vocational Services (JVS) in Toronto. As a member of advisory groups for JVS, HRDC Opportunities Conferences and Hire Top Talent.com, Mark contributed a global perspective into future trends and issues related to the career services industry. In addition, he is a volunteer panelist for the YMCA Toronto Self Employment Assistance program.

His industry role as International President for the Association of Career Professionals International takes effect in 2004.

Mark’s speaking engagements include George Brown College, Hire Top Talent, Wired Woman, E.A.R.N., JVS and HRDC Opportunities Conference and other Career Industry Organizations.

References for Background Paper

Canadian Labour and Business Centre, (April 2001). Where Did All the Workers Go? The Challenges of the Aging Workforce. Leadership Survey 2000

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), (April 2002). Press release on a report issued by the Commission on Global Aging: Older Workers Will Be Needed in New Era of Labour Scarcity, www.csis.org

Church, Elizabeth. ( May 12, 2003) Pension Shortfalls Threaten to Explode, Globe and Mail

Critchley, Robert K., (2002). Rewired, Rehired or Retired?: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker. Jossey-Bass/ Pfeiffer, San Francisco

Desai, Nitin. (2000). Excerpt from the Introductory Chapter to the World Aging Situation, United Nations, www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/ageimpl.htm

Edur, Olev. (July/August 2000).Starting a Business in Retirement from the magazine “Good Times”

Galt, Virginia. (May 2, 2003), Valued Workers Could Stay After 65. Globe and Mail

Geipel, Gary L., (Feb. 2003), Global Aging and the Global Workforce. Article from Beyond Workforce 2020 Report, The Hudson Institute, California

Goldberg, Beverly (2000). Age Works, What Corporate America Must Do to Survive the Graying of the Workforce. The Free Press, Division of Simon & Schuster Inc., New York

Human Resources Development Canada, (HRDC), (May 2002). Challenges of an Aging Workforce. An overview of the issue, www.HRDC-drhc.gc.ca

Lancaster, Lynne C. & David Stillman, (2002). When Generations Collide. Harper Business, New York

Marshall, Victor W. & Margaret M. Mueller, (May, 2002). Rethinking Social Policy for an Aging Workforce and Society: Insights from the Life Course Perspective. From a Discussion Paper for the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN). Ottawa

Munson, Howard, (April 2003). “Valuing Experience: How to Retain and Motivate Older Workers” Study for the Conference Board USA

Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizen’s Organizations (OCSCO), (Nov.1, 2000). Response by OCSCO to the Ontario Human Rights Commission Consultation Paper; The Changing Face of Ontario: Discrimination and Our Aging Population.

Pathways/OI Partners Inc., (June 2003). Survey of Midlife Career Attitudes. Survey compiled by OI Partners and presented at the ACP International Conference in Puerto Rico.

Venning, Mark & Jean Erickson Walker, (June 2003). Life and Work Issues in an Aging World, Report from the 14th World Conference of the Association of Career Professionals International, Puerto Rico

Vu, Uyen. (May 5, 2003). Wave of Retirements Coming, Few Organizations Getting Ready, page 2, Canadian HR Reporter, Carswell Publishers. Toronto

Zenke, Ron & Claire Raines & Bob Filipczak. (2000), “Generations At Work” Amacom, New York

Other Reading Recommended

Baxter, David. (Sept. 2001). The Retiring Kind: An Exploration of the Past and Future of Labour Force Participation in Canada, Urban Futures Institute, Report 53

Bond, David & Diane Bond (2002) Future Perfect, Retirement Strategies for Productive People. Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver

Dychtwald, Ken. (1999) Age Power: How the 21st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old, Tarcher Putnam, New York

Freedman, Marc. (1999) Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement, Public Affairs, a Perseus Books Group

Gerbman, Russell. (July 1999). Reaching Out With Retirees. Article in the HR Magazine by the Society for Human Resource Professionals (SHRM)

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Reim, Iryma. (March 10, 2003). The Challenge of an Aging Workforce, Mississauga Business Times

Roszak, Theodore (2001). Longevity Revolution, As Boomers Become Elders. Berkley Hills Books, California

Walker, Jean Erickson. (2000) The Age Advantage: Making the Most of Your Midlife Career Transitions, Berkley Publishing, New York

Posted by markv at January 1, 2004 12:18 AM