Whether you wish to work in a full-time, part-time or in a just-in-time capacity — for a fee or for free — here are several predictions based on trends and research for you to consider when preparing to work in your 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond (yes, beyond).
1) The contingent and remote work forces will continue to outpace other ways of working over the next five years. The U.S. contingent (as needed) workforce today is stronger than 40 percent of the overall workforce, with remote full-time or part-time workers at around 5 to 8 percent and growing faster than most can measure. One person predicts (yes, that would be me) the growth rate of remote workers will increase to 25 percent by 2025. These predictions favor mature workers who seek to continue to contribute in unique ways.
2) The surging wave of automation will continue to affect occupations across the country. However, change that negatively affects many people also positively affects those who are ready. The question is: Are you ready? The future belongs to those who continue to learn. Hawai‘i offers opportunities for learning from the community college level to adult learning schools, such as the Hawaii Community School for Adults in Honolulu. The school is introducing a bill that would establish a Workforce Readiness Diploma Program for all adults. Follow your legislators and you will continue to see rapid, affordable, lifelong learning opportunities.
3) The “gray wave” is impacting the workforce. Its effect is expected to multiply — beyond imagination — over the next five years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that “Labor force participation is expected to increase fastest for the oldest segments of the population — most notably, people aged 65 and older.”
4) Volunteering is a high-growth business, one in which the need for volunteers is predicted to expand exponentially through 2025. Where do studies predict that highest growth? The answer is healthcare and active involvement with our island’s youngest and oldest members.
The future economic and societal health of Hawai‘i will be measured by how we treat our youngest and oldest members.
If you seek a purpose-driven life and income is not your primary driver, explore the hundreds of volunteer options available throughout the
islands. Keep in mind that longer, purposeful lifetimes are, in large part, achieved by a commitment to your own active aging goals.
Volunteering, by the way, is work. If you stop thinking about work under the old definition of the word “job,” you will see that working for the good of others may end up being more rewarding than any career or endeavor you held during your younger years.
NEW WORKFORCE HAWAII
Carleen MacKay
916-316-0143 | carleenmackayhi@gmail.com
www.newworkforcehawaii.com
Contact Carleen via her website and receive New Ways to Work, a free PDF book co-written with Phyllis Horner.
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