The labour world is having a larger amount of mature workers than what it used to have. These workers may be very valuable for the development of young people.

According to a research published by Hays, experienced workers may be a source of knowledge for young workers.

“Companies must adapt to include experienced workforce, and employees must turn to their elderly colleagues to benefit from the professional experience” said Alistair Cox, Global CEO of Hays.

The Manufacture, Transport, Health and Education industries have a proportionally high number of elderly workers when compared to other industries on a global level. Therefore, it is estimated that their will be a talent shortage when these elder workers retire.

According to Hays, if the knowledge from a more experienced generation is lost, there will also be a lost of competitiveness advantage. For that reason, employers need to use their older workers to train younger employees, passing on decades of knowledge and experience to the new generation. For small and medium firms, with limited budgets, knowing how to maximise the knowledge and experience of older employees becomes crucial.

The research states that the following are the steps young people must take

1. Find a mentor

Either inside or outside the company, it is important to have a mature worker’s point of view. This provides knowledge and experience that helps the young worker take better decisions.

2. Improve skills

If you find an expert on a certain system or someone with a particular skill in your company, ask him/her if he/she may provide council to you.

3. Learn from their lessons

Older workers that have being in the company for a longer period of time have a large quantity of corporate information they can teach you.

4. Be aware of the lack of skills

There are many areas in which a large percentage of the workforce will retire in the next few years. If you notice a gap of skills in your area, you must work with older employees to learn essential technical skills from them. You must set a target to cover the shortage of skills and become a valuable asset for any company.

Companies should promote through concrete measures, the continuous productive exchange between experienced workers and young workers. This is a win-win equation that includes a valued experienced worker, a young worker with higher potential and a company that cumulates and improves strategic knowledge for the development of business.