The Silver Tsunami is a term for the aging workforce in America – a significant effect ondemographics that will result from 10,000 baby boomers reaching retirement age every day from 2011 until 2030.">
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How Will the Silver Tsunami Affect Industry?
June 8, 2021
The Silver Tsunami is a term for the aging workforce in America – a significant effect on demographics that will result from 10,000 baby boomers reaching retirement age every day from 2011 until 2030. With an average retirement age of 61-65 [1], the effects have already begun and will only increase as time goes on.
The industry is being affected by the Silver Tsunami in a few major ways. These effects are a lack of skilled labor, the lack of available workers, and the loss of industry knowledge. These are damaging to production, productivity, and growth. In manufacturing, people are your most valuable resource, and when a phenomenon like this occurs, it can wreak havoc on the status quo.
Basic math provides the first major issue, the population of younger workers with the necessary education and skills to replace this generation is not large enough. The STEM field is not producing enough graduates to fill the need - Georgetown University report predicts there will be a shortfall of 5 million qualified workers [2]. The workforce is still about 50% filled with the baby boomer generation. However, within the next nine years, Millennials and Gen Z will be the majority demographic groups in the workforce. The different workplace culture Millennials have, adds another challenge on top of the mass exodus of workers. As they typically change jobs more often, this will only contribute to the turnover and employer headaches. Deloitte predicts that this could culminate in "a disruptive amount of turnover" [3].
The second issue is that not enough workers are entering the workforce to replace those lost, skilled or not. The labor gap has been known for years, but the pandemic is accelerating it. Many baby boomers who had been putting off retirement are now leaving the workforce due to the pandemic. Many who hadn't planned to retire for many years are also accelerating their departure. This creates a larger gap than expected, and the bodies are not there to replace those lost. Since February 2020, the number of retired Boomers has increased by about 1.1 million. In comparison, during the February to September period last year, the population of retired Boomers rose by only about 250,000. In Q3 of 2020, 28.6 million Baby Boomers reported they were entering retirement. This is a 3.2 million increase over the 25.4 million who retired in Q3 of 2019 [4]. This is a massive jump in retirement rates. And will affect industry in a major way because without people to fill jobs, growth initiatives must be halted, and employees must be overworked to compensate. This negatively affects the company's bottom line.
The third problem and arguably the gravest issue is that these workers are retiring and taking their years of experience and knowledge with them. There is explicit knowledge in a company, which is listed somewhere like test and repair procedures. There is also tacit knowledge – information that resides in the employee’s mind and is not written down or as easy to convey. This is the knowledge that comes from experience, understanding of company culture, how to work well with the systems quirks, personal insight etc. [5]. This is also the most damaging knowledge to lose when an employee retires.
There is a simple way to help curb the effects of the Silver Tsunami on your business – a robust online learning platform.
How Can Your Company Launch an Upskilling Platform to Prepare Your Workforce for Fallout of the Silver Tsunami?
A robust online learning platform can help curb the effects of the Silver Tsunami in many ways. It can upskill workers to compensate for the lack of skilled workers currently in the labor force. An upskilling program also provides huge retention and recruiting bonuses. Millennials value education benefits above nearly all other benefits offered by companies and report that those benefits specifically would make them stay at a job. And an upskilling platform can house your explicit and tacit knowledge. Your team can work with those leaving to immortalize the paramount information to keep operations running smoothly. Also, an upskilling program can be made for your company will best practices and the most up-to-date and relevant information. The benefits are immense to a company that embraces upskilling.
Here are key elements that online learning platforms need to provide value to your company and employees:
Custom branded platform and courses that are uniquely relevant to your workforce
Engaging delivery methods that keep employees actively learning
AI and advanced data capabilities for better learning outcomes and insights
Positive user experience and high retention rates
Turn-key systems capable of immediate implementation with no learning curve
Counteract the damages of the Silver Tsunami by establishing an upskilling platform today!
Amesite Offers a Single, Easy to Use, Scalable Solution
Launch a platform that helps prepare your company for the Silver Tsunami by upskilling current workers, attracting new skilled labor, and immortalizing the valuable knowledge that is collected with years of experience!
Amesite is the premier online learning ecosystem provider on the market today. We are well-positioned to provide your business with what it needs to prepare the workforce of the future.
Amesite's platform is high-tech and AI-powered. We specialized in scalable, custom branded online learning environments and content curation to meet employer's unique needs and support the business's upskilling efforts. Artificial Intelligence drives some of the most compelling experiences on the internet, and Amesite brings these tools to education in a novel and transformative way.
Amesite's platform offers excellent insights to learners and employers using advanced data analytics, unparalleled ease of use, features that build communication and engagement, and provides compelling custom content.
Amesite's product is easy to acquire, use, scale, and offers:
Deploy a fully managed and custom branded enterprise learning platform plus customized courses that enable you to deliver job-specific certifications quickly and efficiently for your staff.
AI and machine learning integration to identify trends and make informed decisions while upskilling your teams with comprehensive data analytics and customizable dashboards.
Attract and keep employees engaged with social media-inspired interface design and the most up-to-date content. Build employee networks that improve your organization's success.
Amesite creates outstanding learning experiences delivered on its advanced platform, providing an excellent user experience for employees. Using AI and advanced analytics to provide fresh content creates an important context for learning. Coupled with outstanding services, these experiences deepen professionals' interest in subjects important to their company's goals. Amesite's unprecedented retention rate in the enterprise sector is 100%.
Let Amesite help your company prepare for the Silver Tsunami today! Request a Demo!
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