The American workforce has entered “Peak 65,” with the largest number of working Americans in history reaching age 65 between 2024 and 2027. Many are retiring, or will soon.
Those at the very end of their career still have a lot to offer, especially to their younger counterparts, and it is a source of skill development those younger professionals may be overlooking.
“Not only are they likely well-connected in their industry, but they likely have a massive amount of knowledge of not only knowing why things are done a certain way, but also how things used to be done and how they’ve changed and progressed,” said Lane Murphy, senior managing consultant of recruiting at Beacon Hill Staffing.
Gen Z and millennials now represent 58% of the workforce, and, while they have skills previous generations don’t, they also have distinct skills gaps older generations don’t.
Depending on the industry and their roles, those younger workers often must repeatedly upskill, learning new skills to keep up with their evolving workplace and their industry’s missions. Retirement-age co-workers are free career development that is right in front of them.
“I have a mentor who I speak to often who will probably retire in about a year. I talk to him minimum monthly, sometimes more often than that. Every time I walk away from those conversations, I receive a great new perspective on different ways I could be doing things, or different ways that he looks at the world,” Murphy said.
Younger workers can also learn a soft skill from older ones: communication. Young professionals are often criticized for lacking interpersonal skills.
Job posting site Monster quotes Chuck Underwood, author of The Generational Imperative, as saying: “All the technical knowledge of younger workers doesn’t compensate for their lack of interpersonal time. Older workers can teach younger ones about basic workplace interpersonal skills such as common courtesy and team play.”
LinkedIn’s 2024 Most In-Demand Skills report lists communication as No. 1.
Beacon Hill Staffing’s report, “Top Reasons Why 2024 is the Year of the Non-Linear Career,” highlights workplace skills challenges and opportunities for younger generations.
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