The largest of the three groups is the Baby Boomers. They make up nearly 40% of the Canadian workforce. Baby Boomers are those people born between 1946 and 1964 ...children of post World War ll parents who whose explosive birthrate was nicknamed the "Baby Boom". The "Boomers" as they are affectionately known are at the heart of a looming labour shortage. 2006  was the first year that the Baby Boomer generation reached retirement age. Today, in Canada a Boomer turns 60 every 75 seconds and it is a situation that will continue for the next 17 years.

Generation X, those born between 1964 and 1980, and which makes up 16% of the work force is the smallest of the three groups. The scary thing for most employers is that there are 60% fewer GenXers than there are Baby Boomers.That means that even if they could all be recruited to fill the vacant positions left by the Boomers there would not be enough of them to do it!  This fact only serves to amplify the impact of the Boomers' inevitable march to retirement.

Generation Y born after 1980, are the children of the Baby Boomers. They are often referred to as the "Boomers echo". They make up 25 % of the workforce which could give you some hope if you are a hring manager, but, sadly, this statistic only adds to the crisis. There exists a skills deficiency, especially within the trades that will really affect public works. The big problem seems to be that the Boomers are retiring with much of what's needed to know locked in their heads.

So, you may be asking, what does this mean to me and my municipality? Is this just an exercise of "fun with figures" or does it somehow translate into a genuine talent management issue?

If you are like most municipal executives you'd like to know how you can get a handle on your talent management strategy.

Recruiting Baby Boomers: This group generally believes that they can do anything or be anything they want to be. Their work ethic is intact and they never shy away from working long hours. Status is important to them and they always have career path in mind. Boomers are the toughest to recruit if they are not actively looking for a job change because they tend to be very loyal to their employer. If a Boomer isn't looking to change jobs someone ...an expert,  will have to approach them because they will never read your ad.  

They will do whatever it takes to get the job done They like titles, place less value on time off, flextime and even money (provided they are meeting their financial needs)