On hiatus

Break time!

We're taking a break from updating this blog to work on some other projects. In the meantime, we'll continue updating our Boomer & Better Marketing News blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Who's hiring?

It's not all bad news. Here are some organizations that are currently hiring:

ACS (Affiliated Computer Services), Kentucky and North Carolina- 215 jobs in clerical, customer service, data entry, management in Kentucky (mostly the Lexington area) and 250 call center workers in Raleigh, NC to provide tech support for iPhone users. A few management positions are also available in Raleigh.

Federal prison, McDowell Co. WV - about 500 jobs in construction, service, security, healthcare, management positions

United Healthcare, Duluth, MN - 40 positions in claims processing

K-12 educators, Idaho Falls, ID - various positions, especially math, science, and special education

Liberty National, Atlanta, GA - more than 100 sales agents and sales managers

GMAC ResCap, Fort Washington, PA - more than 100 lending positions to handle refinancing, defaults/foreclosures, etc.

Allstate, Pittsburgh, PA - 24 agency owners (plus another 60 or so elsewhere in PA); note that as an agency owner, some capital is required ($50K)

TVS, Brevard Co., NC - 30 positions available for 2nd shift at this dairy manufacturing plant; positions are ideal for workers with disabilities or other barriers to employment

CBH Homes, Boise, ID - 20 sales positions; no experience required

Michelman & Robinson, Los Angeles, CA - associate-level attorneys; firm also has plans to grow in Bay area and recently opened a New York office. Note that the firm is receiving "a flood" of resumes.

Various Federal agencies, nationwide -- Federal, state, and local governments have received stimulus money and need to hire temp and permanent workers to spend it. Examples: Social Security Administration is recalling retired workers and needs to fill 2,400 positions; Army Corps of Engineers needs 930 engineers, architects and other workers.

Wal-Mart, Cashe Valley, UT -- 350 positions, of which 65% will be full time

Microsoft, Seattle, WA -- game engineers for a new Halo social and mobile platform

Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce, Surprise, AZ -- call center workers, especially older workers; positions are 32 hours per week

Dynasty Spas, Athens, TN -- this hot tub manufacturer will need to fill 75 positions over the next 1-2 months due to healthy sales overseas

Workplace modifications to prevent injuries to older workers

EHS Today, a publication for environment, health, and safety professionals, blogged about a white paper by PMA Insurance Group that debunks the myth that an aging workforce is more injury prone and therefore less productive. However, injuries could be more severe, and the paper recommends measures to reduce risk.

I recently attended a presentation by AARP that also addressed this issue and how some organizations were reducing risk (and keeping workers happy and healthy). Some examples:

• Baptist Health Services (Coral Gables, FL) -- uses hydraulic beds to help patients get in and out of bed and reduce lifting injuries to employees
• International Trucking -- installed equipment that allows mechanics to work on vehicles with less bending, crawling, and kneeling on the ground
• Pinnacol Assurance -- implemented an ergonomics program that reduced worker's comp costs by a third.

Federal brain drain

Nearly 60% of federal workers will be eligible for retirement in the next three years, according to a presentation given today by Deborah Russell, Director of Workforce Issues at AARP at the Aging is Good Business summit in North Carolina. Of course, not all of these federal workers will retire over the next three years, but they could, and that means the potential loss of a lot of skill and knowledge as these older workers leave the workforce.

The government isn't the only entity that's facing this problem. We're seeing similar problems in healthcare, nursing, education, engineering (average age 57), sciences, and among other highly skilled professionals. The current economic downturn may delay retirement for some of these workers, but they will eventually want to leave the workforce, and these organizations need to have measures in place to ensure that they can compete for the smaller pools of younger employees in the pipeline -- or that they can offer a workplace setting that entices older workers to stay longer (phased retirement, flexible work hours, benefits for part-timers, etc.). Some organizations are doing this (and doing it well). I'll blog more about them soon.

Nevada employers not ready to replace retiring workers

An AARP survey of 600 employers in Nevada found that these employers may see a shortage in workers over the next five years due to retiring Boomers, and few are prepared for it.

Although the reports specifically focus on Nevada (in which more than 28% of the population is age 50+, and a third of whom are in the workforce), the recommendations for recruiting, retaining, and accommodating older workers are relevant to every organization (regardless of location) that wants to reduce turnover or is facing the possibility of shortages due to looming Boomer retirement.

The Nevada employers' top desired employee characteristics were almost identical to the top characteristics in older workers, such as job commitment, reliability, and customer service skills. Seems like a good match, doesn't it?

Near-poor older job seekers falling through the cracks

I attended an interesting meeting today of the Aging Workforce Interest Group at the NC Institute on Aging, where we learned how Federal Recovery Package funds have been allocated to programs across North Carolina to stimulate jobs, and specifically what this meant for older residents in the job market. (North Carolina ranks fourth in the nation for unemployment, and the percentage of workers age 65+ in this state is expected to increase by more than 80% over the next decade ... a double whammy.)

The good news is that federal funds have been disbursed and plans are in place to create job growth, including jobs that will be appealing to older workers.

The bad news is that there's a segment of older workers that are falling through the cracks. These are older citizens that left the workforce a while ago and retired on moderate incomes, but due to diminishing savings or increased expenses, they need to return to work to make ends meet. Having been out of the workforce for a while, their skills may be a bit out of date, making them less competitive for available jobs. Unfortunately, they don't qualify for federally funded training programs because they're just above the poverty level. Too poor to retire. Too rich for free job training.

Data released on California's aging workforce

After declining during the 1980s and 1990s, the share of older workers in California has risen this decade, even during the economic downturn, according to the California Budget Project. The growth among women is particularly strong. Reasons cited include better health, long life expectancy, a declining share of physically demanding jobs, changes to Social Security, reductions in job-based pensions and retiree health coverage, and recent declines in investment and home values. The full report (PDF) is available from the California Budget Project.