Louisiana Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne made an appearance on campus last Tuesday as the keynote speaker of the 2012 Louisiana Leadership Luncheon, where he discussed the economic and social potential of the state’s mature workforce.
The luncheon was held on Tuesday, Jan. 31 in the Twelve Oaks Reception Hall and was sponsored by the Silverforce project, an initiative that encourages the hiring and training of older workers, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
According to Dardenne, numbers indicate that while some workers are aging fewer are retiring.
“Baby Boomers are getting older,” said Dardenne. “They’re much more active. They’re much more involved and they’re much more savvy, and they’re interested in prolonging their work life. They’re not interested in putting up their feet and retiring.”
Dardenne said that in 2010 almost 60 percent of Louisiana citizens between the ages of 55 and 64 years old were still actively working along with the 25 percent between the ages of 65 and 74. Also, nearly 6.5 percent of people over the age of 75 were still participating in the workforce despite being ten years older than the average retirement age of 65. At the closing of his speech, Dardenne compared programs like Silverforce to the self-sacrificing paternal behavior of emperor penguins, which endure the massive hardship of Antarctic cold and hunger so that their young may survive.
“You’re giving life to very fragile eggs,” Dardenne said. “In our case the very fragile eggs are our aging population who in many respects may feel they have not had an opportunity to work in their life, or they worked and feel like they have don’t have anything left to work for.”
The benefits and drawbacks of hiring older employees were considered during an open discussion hosted by Southeastern’s Vice President of Extended Studies Joan Gunter. The crowd of over 100 participants agreed that hiring a mature worker creates mentoring opportunities as well as employees with both experience and a good work ethic. However, they also agreed that the greatest challenge is the lack of technical knowledge. Many suggested that hands on training programs could solve this.
Following Dardenne on the podium was guest speaker Dr. Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. While there are challenges in hiring older employees, Pitt-Catsouphes says that the benefits are worth the extra effort.
“Mature workers are an untapped labor resource that can help relieve critical skill shortages in a workplace,” said Pitt-Catsouphes.
Pitt-Catsouphes closed saying that the presence of older workers indicates a stronger, more productive company, because they look for jobs with healthy environments, opportunities for meaningful work, workplace flexibility, security, constructive relationships, opportunities for learning, a culture of respect and attractive benefits and pay.