Engineering industry responds to ageing workforce
A
Royal Academy of Engineering product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Nov 16, 2007
91% of the engineering companies surveyed by the Royal Academy of Engineering favoured their employees working beyond the age of 65.
Engineering businesses are re-designing the future of work in order to cope with the ageing population, according to a survey of 208 engineering businesses commissioned by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
According to the Office for National Statistics, by 2020 there will be more people aged over 40 than below 40.
Dr Richard Wilson, Director of Communications at The Royal Academy of Engineering, said: "An ageing workforce creates challenges and opportunities for businesses".
"In terms of challenges, the ageing of the UK workforce could exacerbate skill shortages, denude firms of knowledgeable workers and create challenges for employers in terms of maintaining the motivation of their employees".
The Academy's survey of engineering businesses shows that: 44% experienced recruitment difficulties over the last year; 49% believed their workforce would face a shortage of young people over the next decade; and 71% are concerned about the loss of skilled workers as employees retire.
Dr Wilson added: "Engineering businesses are responding to these challenges by re-designing the future of work in a variety of ways: supporting staff to work beyond the age of 65, retraining older workers, enabling retirees to return to work and by creating reserves of retired workers who can be called upon in response to market demands".
Of the engineering businesses surveyed by the Academy: 91% favour their employees working beyond the age of 65; 58% offered re-training to their older workers; 36% had increased the pay of older workers to encourage them to stay in employment; 46% enabled retirees to return to work; and 30% had created a reserve of retired workers who can be called upon to work on discrete projects as and when required.
Dr Wilson concluded: "A crucial challenge for businesses is to preserve their knowledge and capabilities as employees retire".
"The ageing of the workforce is encouraging many engineering businesses to re-design the nature of work to achieve this objective".
"In the process, engineering employers are re-designing the future of work, to the benefit of both older workers and their businesses".
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