Scary Demographic Offers Opportunities for Outside Experts

What's the biggest threat to the economy of the future? Some would (understandably) say the impact of global warming - and they might be right. I personally feel that global warming while undeniable in its potential harm, will give us at least a little time to make adjustments and hopefully we can minimize the potential negative outcomes. While acknowledging this unprecedented danger I believe that a different concern which has equal negative economic impact is already upon us and unlike the climate issue, most of us didn't see it coming. I refer to the critical shortage of a workforce in Canada and the United States.

Canada is somewhat worse off than Americans since Canada has a significantly lower birth rate (1.4 births per woman vs. 2 per woman in the US). The US also has a numerical advantage with the high number of emigrants arriving from Mexico, and while many American politicians are fearful of this, business and industry knows that this immigration wave provides an ongoing supply of labour which while initially low-skilled or unskilled is trainable to more demanding roles.

In searching for ways to train up our workforce, our two North American economies are equally handicapped in that both the US and Canada have devolved responsibilities for training away from the federal governments - making training the responsibility of the provinces or the states as the case may be. Hence little or no national skills strategies.

Rest assured that demographic projections make it clear that the birthrate alone is insufficient to supply tomorrow's labor force and global immigration is insufficient to close the gap. The answer must lie in greater productivity and this does not necessarily mean having people work harder but more appropriately working smarter with a much greater role for technology.

Every company in North America will increasingly face this challenge as no one is exempt. This shift will require companies to increasingly turn to outside experts to assist them in coming to terms with a new generation of HR and new strategies in corporate branding. Encore Workshops training program "the Skilled Workforce Shortage; How It Will Affect Your Organization and What You can do About It" has been delivered to many audiences - and they leave the classroom amazed by the demographic and economic projections but filled with energy and a commitment to bring their colleagues onboard with potential career saving solutions.

Stay tuned since we will be having much more to say on this issue.