Canada: Mining Industry Faces Serious Worker Shortage from Comng Retirements

According to "Prospecting the Future: Meeting Human Resources Challenges in Canada’s Minerals and Metals Sector", the Canadian mining industry will need up to 81,000 new people to meet current and future needs and to fill positions vacated by retirees. The research was conducted by Mining Industry Training and Adjustment Council – Canada (MITAC), and its key findings suggest "the industry could lose up to 40 per cent of the existing workforce in the next ten years. More than half of its current workforce is eligible to retire in the next five to ten years taking with them an average of 21 years of mining sector experience each. The largest percentage of workers planning to retire within the next ten years is in the skilled trades group."

Source: News Release Mining Industry Training and Adjustment Council - Canada (August 23, 2005)

Employers Encouraged To Include Age of Workers in Diversity Thinking

Based on an executive strategy briefing entitled, "Maximizing Human Capital Assets Through Generational Competence," Ceridian is encouraging employers to evaluate their organization's level of "generational competence" to determine how well they have adapted to meet the different needs of the four generations of workers now employed in today's U.S. workforce. "While today's workplace has made great progress in recognizing and embracing differences, until now age has rarely been part of the diversity agenda. A company's generational competence will become a major factor to help organizations achieve the full contribution of their most talented employees," according to the sutdy's lead author, Diane Piktialis, Ph.D., director of work-life services for Ceridian.

“An organization’s viability depends on its ability to hire, retain—and gain the full contribution of—the most talented employees across the generations,” said Piktialis. By instituting human capital management processes, designing benefits and employee effectiveness services, and tailoring talent management to address the needs and earn the engagement of employees of different generations, an organization is taking steps toward generational competence.”

To ultimately seize the opportunities of a multigenerational workforce and achieve generational competence, Ceridian encourages employers to understand and build awareness of generational differences; study how different generations interact, use products and access services within the enterprise; leverage generational understanding to identify market opportunities and to improve marketing, product development, customer service and management practices; and design projects to provide opportunities for cross-generational collaboration.

Source: News Release Ceridian (August 1, 2005)

MetLife Study on Retirement Income of Silent Generation

According to the MetLife Retirement Income Decisions Study: The Silent Generation Speaks, 83% "Silent Generation"--Americans between the ages of 59 and 71--pre-retirees and 90% of retirees are confident that they have enough money to live comfortably until at least age 85. However, many are not as informed as they should about their longevity risk and have not taken steps to ensure that they will have enough money to last throughout their lifetime--34% of pre-retirees have not calculated how much monthly income they will need in retirement, and 45% of pre-retirees and 47% of retirees have not estimated the annual rate of inflation over the next ten years. [This study focused only on popele with non-housing assets of a least $100,000 who identified themselves as a primary or joint financial decision-maker for their household.]

Source: News Release MetLife (June 21, 2005)

Hewitt Study Shows Nearly Half of U.S. Workers Cash Out of 401(k) Plans When Leaving Jobs

Despite the growing need for employees to save for retirement, a significant number of workers participating in 401(k) plans "cash out" of them once they leave their company, according to new research by Hewitt Associates. Hewitt's study of nearly 200,000 workers who participate in their 401(k) plans found that 45% elected to take a cash distribution once they left their jobs. The remainder either kept their savings in their current employer's 401(k) plan (32%) or rolled the money over to a qualified IRA or other retirement plan (23%). While employees who were older and more tenured were more likely to preserve their retirement wealth, more than 42% of workers age 40-49 also elected to cash out of their 401(k) plans upon leaving their jobs.

Source: Press Release Hewitt Associates (July 25, 2005)

Japan: Population Decline Requires Rethinking Employment of Elderly

According to an article by Kenichi Aoyama/Kentaro Nakajima, Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry's latest population survey is another reminder of the need to address an anticipated decline in the workforce as Japan is expected to experience a population decline of about 10 million people (to about 117.58 million by 2030). "To make sure Japan remains an economic power, it is imperative to step up efforts to improve labour productivity while also reforming this country's various systems, including the social security system."

Among other things, the ministry panel studying employment policies proposed aiding older people--those in their late 60s, for instance--in their efforts to find jobs. The article also notes that many experts have called for reforming this country's various systems to a1ccommodate a reduction in the population, including the education and pension systems, and quotes Hisakazu
Kato, an assistant professor of demographic economics at Meiji University, calling for Japan to "think about the importance of training personnel again, for instance by retraining the elderly and improving education programs for the young."

Source: "Population Report Shows Need For Action" e-Sinchew.com (July 29, 2005)