Age Proof Your Brain with Tony Buzan

Australia is facing a potential shortfall of 195,000 workers in five years' time as a result of the ageing workforce. Employers must address the challenges of Australia's ageing population and our declining birth rate now in order to stay competitive and economically viable in the future.

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In a report on the ageing workforce, the Queensland Department of Employment & Industrial Relations said..

"Over the next four decades in Australia, the number of people aged over 65 will almost double. Within just seven years, about 85 percent of labour market growth will come from people over the age of 45. Our ageing population is a reality.

While it is illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of age, younger workers have traditionally been the winners in most company recruitment drives. Employers (many of them mature-aged themselves) have tended to be unconcerned about losing the skills, knowledge and experience of older workers.

However attitudes are changing as more companies recognise that in the future there will be fewer young people to employ relative to older people. The current skills shortage reported in Queensland is not a blip in labour supply. It reflects growing competition for the available workforce. Businesses that target recruitment to the prime age group (26 to 40 years) will limit their potential pool to just 20 percent of the working age population."

While there seems to be many common myths about the ageing worker, there seems to be limited evidence that actual cognitive skills diminish as we get older. What is clear is that many people believe this is the case – both employers and employees, and this may lead to a feeling of inability to adapt to change and meet today’s challenges - never mind those of tomorrow. The challenge then is to change this perception in both the minds of the employer and the individual.