CHANGING JOBS:
Frederick's Employment Future (1 of 3)

Social changes slow hiring rate

By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon @ fredericknewspost . com

FREDERICK — Slow population growth, an aging workforce and culture clash are among the problems Frederick County employ ers must overcome to remain competitive.
     These obstacles may have contributed to the dip in hiring while leading to a shortage of skilled workers, according to Lisa Coblentz, spokeswoman for the staffing agency Manpower.
     According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the fertility rate has dropped from 3.5 in 1950 to 1.9 in 2000. The bureau defines fertility rate as the total number of live births, per 1,000 women age 15-44.
     At the same time, life expectancy has risen from 68 years of age in the 1950s to 78 in 2003, according to “Health, United States, 2005” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
     “This means the accounting and finance industry will continue to grow as baby boomers need more financial services,” Ms. Coblentz said.
     While a growing number of seniors is good for finan- cial services, other industries may find it difficult to replace recently retired workers.
     “The aging population of baby boomers means that the number of skilled workers retiring over the next 10 years will cause a labor and skills shortage,” Ms. Coblentz said. The average age of skilled workers, such as mechanics and assembly line workers, is 53.
     “As life expectancies rise, workers wonder what they will do for the next 20 years after retirement,” Ms. Coblentz said.
     Some continue to work because they want to stay active.
     Rhonda Barrett, 62, retired from the telecommunications industry last year and now works part-time at an insurance office.
     “I'm not ready to sit in a rocking chair and knit my days away,” she said. “I still have a lot to offer and love mingling with people.”
     Ms. Coblentz said customer service is one of the biggest assets retired people carry.
     Other retirees continue to work part-time in their industry to share their knowledge with the next generation, Ms. Coblentz said.
     “As employers are making accommodations for people who don't fit that perfect mold, we find certain populations gain favor, while others are forced to learn new skills to be successful,” Ms. Coblentz said.
     People who speak more than one language are increasingly attractive to prospective employers, she said.
     “Five years ago, if I had candidates who were primary Spanish speakers, most employers would have shied away,” she said. “Today, they are making adjustments to utilize Spanish-speaking employees.”
     Those adjustments include bilingual training and incentives to learn English.
     Technology has created more high-skilled jobs, such as computer programmers and engineers, at the expense of many low-skilled jobs, she said.
     At General Motors, it took more than 450,000 workers to build 5 million cars and trucks 25 years ago. Today, about 100,000 can build the same number, Ms. Coblentz said.
     “This phenomenon is forcing our society to learn or increase their skills, which in turn boosts income,” Ms. Coblentz said.
     One side effect is that young people have to be ready for lifelong learning to keep up with changing technology.
Generation gap
An age gap between baby boomers and workers entering the workforce often translates into a clash of cultures.
     “Sometimes young people show up to work with tattoos and piercings, or they may not dress professionally,” Ms. Coblentz said.
     Other hurdles include fluency with technology, social skills and work ethic.
     Diana Pendergraft, spokeswoman for Groeff Financial Group in Frederick, said headphones prevent people from communicating.
     “We had to institute a policy against them,” she said, “because so many young people are wired to their iPods all day.”
     Ms. Coblentz said people today tend to be more transient than workers 20 years ago.
     “In the past, most people went through two or three jobs during their careers,” Ms. Coblentz said. “Now, individuals tend to average between eight or nine.”
     She said employers must find creative ways to bridge the generation and technology gaps in order to take advantage of each population's strengths.