KEY POINTS:
The answer to New Zealand's skills shortage lies with workers aged over 55 and not 20- to 30-year-olds, says a report for employers.
The research by consulting and investments firm Mercer says one in five workers will be aged 55 or older by 2012 - meaning employers will have to shift their focus from young to old before then if they want to maintain a viable workforce.
"This is not about changing a few HR [human resources] policies," said Mercer's New Zealand business leader, Bernie O'Brien, yesterday. "There needs to be a shift in the mindset of how, and for how long, New Zealanders work."
The report, called "Workplace 2012 New Zealand - What does it mean for employers?", aims to show employers where the future workplace will grow and shrink.
By 2012 there will be a 24 per cent increase in the amount of workers aged 55 or older in the New Zealand labour force, which is an additional 100,000 people.
The number of workers aged 25-54 will increase by only 28,000, or 2.5 per cent.
Mr O'Brien said the skills shortage in New Zealand was far from over and any respite for employers from a tightening labour market would be short-lived.
"Employers who react to the current economic crisis with no long-term view are at risk of destroying a viable and productive workforce. Workplace 2012 will be dominated by the race to keep skilled workers. Employers who only focus on fixing today's problems and ignore tomorrow's are at risk.
"In the next four years, more and more skilled and experienced workers will retire and employers will be left without the resources they need when the economy rebounds."
The report said employers would have to change focus from attracting 20- to 30-year-olds because workers 55 or older would need to be the productivity drivers for the New Zealand economy.
"The fact that the workforce is ageing is not new. The twin issues of the skills shortage and the pending wave of retiring baby boomers seems to have been debated perennially.
"But this research clarifies and cements the fact that one of the biggest business risks in New Zealand in the immediate future is not just economic factors - it is the significant demographic shifts occurring that will threaten the sustainability of many New Zealand businesses."
