A record-high 11 million jobs are waiting to be filled across the U.S. This boom in available openings? You can thank the Baby Boomers.

According to Pew Research Center, the rate of retirement in Baby Boomers has accelerated since the start of COVID-19 with almost 29 million boomers retiring in 2020 – An increase of more than 3 million from 2019.

With 75 million Baby Boomers retiring by 2030, The Great Retirement is looking to supersede The Great Resignation as the biggest hiring trend for 2022. Here’s what you need to know:

How will Baby Boomers retiring affect the workforce?

One in four workers in the U.S. is a Baby Boomer, amounting to 41 million total employees. This trend of mass retirement will lead to an even wider workforce gap as companies race to fill positions left by retirees. As these workers also normally hold higher-level management positions due to their extensive working experience, the competition to find replacements will be tough with many businesses turning to recruiters to look for top talent.   

Why are Baby Boomers retiring now?

While Baby Boomers fall in the generation most at-risk for COVID-19, the main driving factor for retirement isn’t health-related. They’re looking for a better quality of life.

Famous for their strong work ethic and dedication (40% have stayed with their employer for more than 20 years), Baby Boomers commit to their jobs more than any other generation. After 40+ years in the workforce and a global pandemic, they’re re-evaluating their work-life balance. With quarantine rules keeping them at home but isolated, many are choosing to trade in their 9-to-5 for more time with friends, family, and to travel.

Those most likely to retire early? Women over the age of 65 are the group with the most retirees while the Hispanic Boomer population saw the biggest increase in retirement rates. Boomers residing in the Northeastern U.S. also saw a large increase in those retiring.

What can be done to prevent a workforce gap?

While Boomers may want to spend their golden years away from the office there is a silver lining to The Great Retirement: There’s a whole new generation (and two others) ready to work. Investing in these workers and supporting their development will be crucial to closing your workforce gap. Here’s how to attract and retain young employees:

1. Offer flexibility in the workplace

Gen X workers and Millennials are often working parents or caregivers to their parents or grandparents. With quarantine rules and distance learning changing often and suddenly, you’ll need to be supportive of employees who are pulling double duty working and taking care of their family during the day. Offering more flexibility to parents by letting them work from home and by measuring their performance on results (not hours worked) will help retain valuable employees who won’t have to choose between family and their job.

2. Close skills gaps with reskilling and upskilling

Younger workers, especially Gen Z, won’t have the decades of experience that retiring Baby Boomers have. Instead of brushing-off young talent for a lack of skills, take the time to train them on the skills they need. If your company doesn’t have a formal training program ask them to enroll in online courses like our Aspire Academy. There are dozens of training courses available at no cost.

3. Mentor, don’t manage

For many young people, a position in your company may be their first professional job out of college. They don’t just need a salary but need guidance on how to progress in their careers. In a recent survey, younger workers reported wanting feedback from their managers more frequently than their older colleagues signifying they need more support to know they are doing their jobs correctly. They also rank mentorship among the three most important aspects of choosing where to work. Setting up a mentorship program will not only attract top young talent but keep them engaged and loyal to your company.

Is your company feeling the effects of The Great Retirement? At Adecco, we pride ourselves on finding and connecting top talent with the right opportunities. Learn more about our staffing solutions and keep reading our blog to discover the other top hiring trends for 2022.

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The post The Great Retirement: Are Baby Boomers causing today’s hiring shortage? appeared first on Paragon Strategic Staffing.

85% of the jobs that will be in demand in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet. These new jobs, and the new skills required to do these new jobs, stem from the shift toward the green economy or an economy based on lowering environmental risks.

Is your resume ready to impress employers taking a greener approach? According to research in our white paper, Skills for the Green Economy, the energy sector alone can produce 18 million new jobs if workers have the right skills (or can be trained on these skills) to adapt to green practices.

Here are the top opportunities to look out for and green economy skills to add to your resume:

Green skills will drive the automobile industry

In just five years over 1/3 of all cars sold will be electric vehicles, hybrids, or plug-ins. As a result, automobile companies will look for new talent with the right skills to drive their business through this transition. The jobs that will need filling? Network engineers and software specialists to help design vehicles, mechanics and manufacturers to produce batteries, and educated salesforce members to sell new products.

A whole range of skills from software design to systems analysis will be in-demand for the automobile sector. Want to learn these skills and add them to your resume? Our sister company, Modis, has developed a state-of-the-art reskilling program where you can get trained to work for the automobile industry and more.

Maintenance will make a big comeback

Reduce, reuse, repair? As Americans are shifting to throwing out less and recycling more, households will make an effort to maintain products like appliances and electronics instead of buying more. Even Ikea, famed for being the face of the “fast furniture” industry, will focus on offering repair and maintenance services to prolong the life span of their products.

According to new Pew research, demand for mechanical skills like repairing and system maintenance will see a 27% increase in the new green economy. Highlight these skills for the green economy on your resume, along with knowledge of specific equipment and your ability to problem-solve to help you land a future maintenance job.

Analytical skills are increasing in importance

The trend in future work isn’t just going greener. It’s going smarter, too. As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technology continues to permeate the workforce, edging into traditionally manual jobs like warehousing, too.

How exactly? Fields like warehousing rely more and more on computer programming to run complex machinery and systems analysis to maintain their supply chain. According to Pew, system analysis rates as the most critical analytical skill for the green economy, while programming is the green skill that will increase in demand the most.

But soft skills will still reign supreme

While technology will help shape green economy skills, soft skills will remain fundamental. When asked to rate 35 skills on importance, employers listed soft skills as the top four most crucial. In order of importance, they are active listening, speaking, critical thinking, and reading comprehension.

Learning how to sell your soft skills will be increasingly important on both your resume and in your job interview. Instead of listing basic skills like “speaking,” give examples of meetings you’ve led, or presentations given. With 92% of recruiters agreeing that soft skills are as important (or more important) than hard skills, don’t overlook the importance of these on your resume.

How do I get these skills?

Whether you need training on analytical skills or want to expand your soft skills, the Adecco Aspire Academy can help. Through a partnership between the Adecco Foundation US and Penn Foster, courses ranging from “Warehousing and Distribution” to “Stress and Time Management” are available to you free of charge. Enroll now and check out what green skills you can learn.

At Adecco, we’re here to help you through every stage of your career. Whether you’re returning to work, looking for a new opportunity, or just starting out in the workforce, you can find support from one of our local recruiting teams.

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The post How-To: Update your resume with skills for the green economy appeared first on Paragon Strategic Staffing.

Is overhauling your career a part of your New Year’s resolutions? You’re in good company. According to our research, nearly 2 in every 5 people are changing jobs or considering a new career in the new year.

Whether you’re looking to move on up in your same company or change job fields entirely, you’ll need to develop new skills to fit your new job description. Luckily the importance of training is becoming increasingly crucial to companies and employees alike, making it easier than ever to determine what in-demand skills you’re missing and the steps you need to take to gain them:

How to determine which skills you’re missing

The first step in revamping your career is to figure out which in-demand skills your dream job requires. Only then are you able to see what training and professional development you’ll need to close your post-pandemic skills gap:

1. Research the future of your industry

Artificial Intelligence. Automation. Cloud computing. New advancements in technology are continually changing the future of work and the skills in-demand for future employment. 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet thanks to changing tech.

While that may seem far off, companies are looking for candidates who possess the right qualifications to adapt to these advancements now. Research what job skills are most in-demand for your industry for the next 10 years and focus on acquiring those competencies to make yourself a more competitive applicant.

And it’s not just tech companies that will be looking for highly skilled individuals. Traditionally manual industries like warehousing are adapting robotics and supply chain management into their daily business practices.

2. Connect with those in your preferred position

Need advice on how to get a specific job? Look no further than those who are in that position now. They’ll help you answer questions you have on making a big career change and provide personal insights on what job skills are most in-demand for their job.

If you’re looking to stay in your same company, consider a mentorship. In addition to highlighting which skills you’ll need to develop, a mentor can assist with career goals and help you build meaningful work relationships. 97% of employees that have a mentor agree that they are valuable and help them progress in their careers. 

3. Explore your current workplace

Thanks to the post-pandemic hiring boom, chances are your current company is looking for employees or outsourcing work. Monitor your workplace’s internal job board to see the top skills in-demand, especially if an open position resembles what you want to do in the future. 

Look at what roles in your team are currently being outsourced. As companies are shifting from outsourcing to reskilling employees, your business will prefer for internal workers to take on these jobs. If you’re prepared with the right skills, your company will look to you to fill one of these positions.

How to gain those skills

Now that you’ve determined what skills you need it’s time to make a game plan. Combine virtual learning with hands-on experiences for the most comprehensive approach to closing your skills gap:

1. Seek opportunities in your current company

In 2020 alone, US companies spent $82.4 billion on training their workers. Ask your company leaders if there are opportunities to enroll in learning platforms and make a formal training request to your manager presenting the benefits of education.

And it’s not just technical skills that can be learned. Thanks to evolving technology more in-depth learning resources have emerged, some even incorporating virtual reality to train employees on manual abilities.

2. Look for education outside the office

Don’t worry if your company doesn’t have a dedicated learning and development program. Over 180 million people have enrolled in online courses just in 2020, with more learning platforms being developed each year. Find an online course that aligns with your future job and other skills that are in high demand and see if your employer will cover the cost.

Is your company unable to pay for your training? Our Innovation Foundation can help. We’ve partnered with Penn Foster to bring you the Aspire Academy, an e-learning platform with dozens of training courses available at no cost.

3. Take a temporary position

Before taking on a more permanent position in a new career field try out a temporary role. You’ll see firsthand what qualifications you need for future work, get on-the-job training for essential skills, and, most importantly, see if you enjoy the work before committing. Check out our current openings to see if there’s a position that aligns with your future work goals.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­At Adecco, we’re here to help you prepare for your career change every step of the way. Check out our Adecco Foundation US for more professional development programs and read our research on future-proofing the workforce for further insights on closing your skills gap. Get started with us today.

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