Mentoring Roles Can Keep Older Construction Workers on the Job

According to a story by Korky Koroluk, a pilot project to be launched with the Construction Association of Nova Scotia to provide more structure to on-the-job training for apprentices may also help keep some older workers in the construction industry. George Gritziotis, executive director of the Construction Sector Council (CSC), told Koroluk that "journeypersons who instruct and supervise apprentices on the job 'are not hard-wired to do that kind of job,' and more structure is needed so that the industry gets the kind of workforce it needs and could result in mentoring becoming a “designated occupation” in the industry.

He said that older journeypersons with the aptitude and training for mentoring could see it as a way to remain in the industry for another few years.

A lot of what Gritziotis calls “corporate memory” is lost when people retire. Keeping older workers on in mentoring roles would allow them to transfer their knowledge, thus preserving the corporate memory they possess.

Source: Daily Commercial News and Construction Record "Mentoring project in Nova Scotia to aid apprentice training" (January 3, 2008)

Survey: SHRM Finds Mixed Views on Older Workers

According to the results of a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) online poll, while older workers often are viewed as not keeping up with technology as well as other age groups in the workforce, HR professionals value the experience and mentoring they bring.

The value of older workers continues to rank high in some areas, the poll found, but the perceived advantages they bring ranked lower than three years ago. On the bright side, many of the disadvantages ranked lower than they did three years ago.

As for advantages of older workers, 71% of those surveyed recognized the "“invaluable experiences"” older workers bring to the workplace, 64% said older workers serve as mentors for those with less experience, 61% said older workers may be more willing to work part time or seasonally to fulfill labor-on-demand needs, and 60% said older workers were more reliable,

On the other side, where the numbers were much smaller (24% said there are no disadvantages), 49% said these employees do not keep up with technology, 38% said older workers cause expenses, such as health care costs, to rise, and 23% said older workers are less flexible than younger workers.

Source: SHRM Online "Will you desire 'em, will you admire '’em, when they'’re 64?" (October 16, 2006)