By Peter Barraket

The Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg believes that Australia’s ageing population is an “economic time bomb” which needs to be ‘retrained’ to meet the future demands that will be placed on the national workforce.  While this may be true, it does not go far enough.  The future is already upon us and the ‘retraining’ required applies to all workers.  It is an inescapable truth that we have been experiencing unprecedented and prolonged periods of change for decades now.  The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, knew this when he said: “Change is the only constant in life.” While emotionally dislocating, the wonderful writer, Wolfgang Von Goethe, reminds us that, “Whoever in middle age, attempts to realise the wishes and hopes of his early youth invariably deceives himself.  Each ten years of a (person’s) life has its own fortunes, its own hopes, its own desires.”

Why is the Australian Treasurer talking about the need for retraining?  A 2017 McKinsey report titled, Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages, claims that 75-375 million people may need to switch occupational categories and learn new skills. And as our Treasurer pointed out, ‘aging populations’ is one of the top trends driving change in the workplace. McKinsey nominated four others:

To continue reading please follow the link here: Transitions – Your New Future Is Now