Kumar Parakala
THE impending retirement of Australia’s baby boomer generation is causing increasing concern among senior decision-makers in both the public and private sectors.
While the global financial crisis continues to dominate media attention, there are growing fears that the issue of Australia’s ageing population will compound the downturn and constrain recovery.
While many private sector workers nearing retirement are considering working longer after the stock market crash decimated their superannuation, those in the the public sector, whose superannuation benefits are defined and guaranteed, are unaffected.
What this means is that Australia could lose a large number of senior, experienced workers between now and 2015, with some estimates putting 55-57 per cent of workers in organisations becoming eligible for retirement.
There is no easy solution to such a challenge. We must act now to identify and train their replacements, to prepare them for executive and middle management roles. And, while the financial crisis can be regarded as a threat, it also presents a perfect opportunity.
For the ICT sector, the impending loss of mature-age professionals threatens to exacerbate deficiencies in certain high demand skills, as well as creating a critical shortage of experienced leaders to drive the next stage of growth.
More