The wisdom of the aging workforce: A commodity in crisis

The population demography of the world is undergoing a unique transition. Longer lifespans and below replacement-level birth rates are current global demographic realities. These changes have resulted in an aging population with a smaller working-aged cohort. There are many implications to this shift. But of concern to this study are the risks induced by resultant shifts in knowledge, wisdom, and intellectual capital.; In today's information age, knowledge is the commodity that enables competitive advantage. Knowledge and wisdom are the results of education, training, and experience acquired from years of employment and life experiences. Knowledge and wisdom cannot be learned quickly or without exposure to those who currently possess the knowledge. In a knowledge-based economy, loss of knowledge translates into a loss of capital. An organization can wither and die, if it is starved of the knowledge needed to maintain competitive advantage. Companies and countries have not effectively changed their policies to meet these new realities. In the instances where actions have been taken, they are largely ineffective because they employ the remedies of the last century to treat the symptoms and not the illness of the new century: knowledge starvation.; Foremost among the industries impacted by the presence of an aging workforce is the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry. With an average worker age of near 50 and constant uncertainty for future work, the A&D industry is on the brink of losing the knowledge and wisdom necessary for competitive advantage. The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry has been a leading force in the development of technology and engineering. From aircraft production to satellites, from communications and computer software and hardware; the A&D industry has illuminated the technical path to the future with cutting edge technology that has had broad applications for every corner of society. However, the technical workforce of the A&D industry is heavily weighted with older workers. These technical workers will soon be eligible to retire. Their departure will have a tremendous impact on the knowledge available to this vital industry.; In this study, the Delphi forecasting method is used to survey members of the technical society of a major U.S. A&D corporation. The results provide an enlightening picture of how current knowledge workers perceive the new demographics. The opinions of these experienced technical workers are used to formulate risk-mitigation strategies to guide the industry through this period of transition. The data compiled and the risk-mitigation concepts proposed in this study have direct applicability to the A&D industry. However, the critical integration of technology and the aging workforce into every segment of the U.S. economy suggests that there exists a broad applicability for these risk-mitigation proposals into many other industries as well.