Chapter 9.

Turning Gray to Gold:How to Mine theRiches in Seasoned Talent

“Employers need to realize that some of us older professionals have grown children. We may be divorced or widowed, and we have incredible skills and the time to work. And we want to work.”

—A Woodstocker computer expert

SOME RESEARCHERS PREDICT that by 2010 the United States will face a labor shortage with 10 million more jobs than available workers to fill them. While the real extent of this shortage is still being debated, the fact remains that you and your organization must not only create knowledge transfer programs immediately, but also retain the experience and maturity of your older workers for as long as possible.

We already know, in 2006, that two experienced workers ...

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