Welcome to an Older, More Mature Florida

Numbers crunchers in Florida are finally realizing that the sunshine state is not immune to the aging trend sweeping the rest of the world.

Marketers had better catch on as well if they want to capture the billions of dollars in purchasing power that will increasingly be controlled by older Floridians.

The state estimates that seniors will account for 60 percent of population growth over the next two decades. By 2030, they say, one in four state residents will be 65 or older; or 26 percent, compared with 17 percent today, according to the Bureau for Business and Economic Research at the University of Florida.

While some predict the aging of the state will strain government resources and cause worker shortages, smarter heads see an opportunity to tap the knowledge and experience of the boomer generation at a fraction of its prime time cost.

It is estimated that over the next 15 years, 80 percent of the native-born workforce growth in North America – and even more so in much of Western Europe – will come from those over fifty, according to a book entitled, “Workforce Crisis,” written by Ken Dychtwald and published by the Harvard Business School Press.

Dychtwald, who is a specialist in tracing the impact of an aging population on society, wrote the book along with Tamara J. Erickson and Robert Morison, who are management advisors, to give organizations a heads-up on how to handle what they see as the coming shortage of skills and talent that is being brought on by the aging of the workforce in the industrialized world.

The authors point out that “while marketers are starting to target an older population, managers are still encouraging mature employees to retire early.” Big mistake, they say, because the workforce will show a marked decline moving out to the year 2020, when growth will be an “anemic 0.3 percent.”

They place emphasis on how to retain and nurture mature workers because that’s were the lion’s share of experience resides, which can stem the on-coming brain drain. “Demographic and economic projections suggest that the shortage of workers will start soon and grow significantly…” they observe.

“A complex set of variables shapes the nature, timing and extent of these deficits,” the book goes on. “Economic conditions and the rate of job creation govern the demand for workers.” On that score, mature workers should be much in demand in the state of Florida well into the future.

Hopefully, that won't by that.