Home > Media Coverage > Workplace Diversity Update, February 2003

Researchers hope new aging study will push legislative change

A $3-million multi-national study headed by a Canadian research team will focus on the aging workforce and how it can be retrained for information technology jobs.

Julie McMullin (519-661-3606), professor of sociology at the University of Western Ontario (www.uwo.ca), expects the four-year study will result in human resource policy changes that affect how older workers, as well as women and ethnic and racial minorities, fit into the new global economy.

A 17-member research team from Canada, the United States, Australia and the European Union will conduct the study, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) (www.sshrc.ca). The research grant is the largest ever awarded by the Council. In addition, another 25 organizations are making in-kind contributions totaling $2 million.

Many companies in the IT sector are experiencing a rapid turnover of their young, white, largely male employees despite perks, such as pool tables, bars, video games and stock options. "We have an aging workforce and a shortage of younger workers," McMullin says.

Retraining older workers

"We're going to try and make recommendations for people, employers and government about how we can retrain and re-skill older workers for work in IT jobs. One of the things we're interested in is exploring how IT firms.deal with aging workers. If they deal with them at all."

Workers aged 45 plus already bring valuable experience to the workforce, McMullin says. That experience can be used without requiring them to undergo the typical four-year retraining process to maximize their skills. In many cases, employees can remain highly productive even beyond age 65, she says.

"We are going to need older workers to stay and work longer if economies are to be sustained at the same level they are now," she says. "We know that people, even at age 65, aren't cognitively in such decline that they can't work productively. So how can we make work good so that people want to stay past age 65. And part of the challenge is making work enjoyable."

Focus of research

Researchers from eight universities will look not only at the IT sector but other types of industries as well, McMullin says. They will conduct 16 case studies involving employee surveys and interviews with IT managers and company owners.

The research team will also look at middle-management, particularly in the manufacturing sector which attracts less investment than knowledge-based companies. While aging workers will be the major focus of the multi-phase study, employment opportunities in IT careers for women, ethnic and racial minorities will also be examined.

"We know that there tend to not be many women in these positions" McMullin says. "And we draw from a highly-educated workforce from other countries to fill some of the roles in IT work in Canada. But we wonder if there is any discrimination in terms of career mobility and that kind of thing."

A recent study by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) found that racial discrimination results in less job security and fewer advancement opportunities for visible minorities in Canada.

Human Resources Development Council of Canada, the Software Human Resource Council, the Canadian Policy Research Network, the Information Technology Association of Canada and bitHeads Inc., an Ottawa software development company, are also partners in the study.

Legislative changes needed

It would be ideal if the study results in legislative changes that improve employment opportunities for all workers regardless of age, gender or race, McMullin says. Unlike the U.S. where there is no mandatory retirement age, six Canadian provinces require workers to retire at age 65. Challenges to that legislation have been unsuccessful.

Some opinion leaders in the U.S. believe government policy should be amended to encourage workers from the massive baby-boom generation to stay on the job past age 65 to avoid a major drain on tax-supported social security entitlements.

"I think we're lagging behind (in Canada) in terms of how workplaces treat older workers," McMullin says. "We're hoping to have a pretty big impact on government policy and workplace policy."

SSHRC funding

McMullin's project competed with 63 others for SSHRC funding, with only nine receiving grants. SSHRC, which reports to Parliament through the Minister of Industry, is Canada's federal funding agency for university based research and graduate training in the social sciences and humanities.

"By updating our learning and working practices, we will help Canadians seize opportunities around the globe," says Marc Renaud, SSHRC president. "These advances in education and training will not only pay great dividends for Canadian companies but also for workers who will be prepared to face constantly changing realities at work and at home."

Original Citation Information:

Researchers hope new aging study will push legislative change. (2003, February). Workplace Diversity Update, 11(2), p.3.