Too Few People, Too Little Time: The Employer Challenge of an Aging Workforce

Many Canadian organizations and industries will face critical talent shortages in the next decade. Due to the imminent retirement of the baby boom generation, and the smaller size of subsequent generations, there will soon be too few qualified people to fill all of the positions vacated by departing mature employees. Immigration at its current levels will not close the gap. To maintain productivity and profitability, employers must develop more effective ways to manage their workforce.

How are organizations responding to this potential threat? How should they be responding? In response to a request from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, The Conference Board of Canada undertook a research study in 2005 to answer these questions, interviewing seven knowledge leaders and conducting an online survey of 137 corporate executives. This briefing sheds light on what organizations are doing—or not doing—to address the impending problem of a reduced workforce.