The knowledge divide
Good morning! We your team at www.sterlingcreations.ca are delighted to be back with you after a bit of a holiday. We were off on a working vacation and now it’s back to work.
This weekend, we are pleased to bring you an editorial by our esteemed president Donna J. Jodhan and we hope that you take a few moments to read it.
We wish you an enjoyable weekend.
Here now is Donna’s editorial.
The knowledge divide
How ready are we to tackle the problem of the knowledge divide? Up until the economy started to slide, this was a very big problem but now that things have changed somewhat, yes it is still a problem but we have been given somewhat of a reprieve.
With the present economic crisis playing havoc with the incomes of retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers, more and more persons have been forced to put off retiring choosing instead to stay longer in the workplace. This was not the case about a year ago when so many aging baby boomers were so anxious to stampede out of the workplace and into retirement. At that time many companies were facing a real problem of having to cope with an ever widening knowledge divide. A divide that was threatening to swallow us up but now; things have changed drastically.
In years to come, many companies may look back on this economic crisis as having played a huge role in saving them from having to deal with the knowledge divide. As things stand today, aging baby boomers are choosing to stay longer in the labour force and retirees and seniors are choosing to seek jobs to help them bolster their diminished savings. These two factors will definitely help to stem the knowledge divide for now but make no mistake! As soon as the economy turns around, aging baby boomers will be packing their bags in droves and retirees and seniors will be deserting their temporary positions in favor of days of not having to work.
Of course, it may take years before the problem of the knowledge divide comes to the front again but in the meantime, I do believe that we should be taking this lull to prepare more thoroughly for this eventuality. What can we do to prepare? More incentives for aging baby boomers and experienced workers to pass on their knowledge and skills to younger workers. More initiatives to ensure that knowledge and skills are passed on in a timely and appropriate manner.
What exactly is the knowledge divide? The knowledge and skills that baby boomers possess and will eventually take away with them versus the lack of knowledge and experience that those in their twenties and thirties possess.
]]>
Related
About Donna Jodhan
Donna Jodhan is an award winning blind author, advocate, sight loss coach, blogger, podcast commentator, and accessibility specialist.
