Tag: employment

  • Adapting to a Changing Job Market

    This past year has has served as a glaring stoplight for many people who assessed their slim chances of ever working again. The truth is that the changes we have experienced — those due to COVID-19 and more — have opportunities embedded within their threats. As previously promised, here is a straightforward, basic planning model for future work. It’s a guiding light to follow as you plan to continue to work in one of several ways in the foreseeable future.

    Forget endless chronology and look instead at your unique interests, gifts and verifiable  accomplishments. Write  them down. What do you want to highlight in any work you do in the future? For example, you may have been working in a company full-time as an accountant. You loved some — but not all — of the work. The work you loved are the highlights you are selling to a future employer, client or customer. Ask former teammates for their strongest impressions regarding your contributions. Think about new areas of interest and how your strengths might be an asset. Ask yourself how the work you will do in your older years will contribute to achieving your goal of living a purposeful and even longer life?

    Keeping your interests in the forefront of your mind as you check the market. Where are the strongest opportunities that meet your interests? Be sure to check options beyond the fulltime job market because you may find that one of the strongest opportunities for mature workers is in the flexible workforce.

    The flexible workforce option is growing at warp-speed and is a treasured opportunity for many of us facing the need to continue to earn, learn and to be a part of a larger community.

    Yes, you may need to enhance your skills by learning how to use a laptop, the internet and social media. Fear alone, not competency, makes this hard for many seniors. Be aware that the answers to most of your questions about your future work are at your fingertips.

    Put this in perspective! Do you still drive in the crazy traffic on most of our islands? If so, learning to use the basic technology at your fingertips will seem simple by comparison.

    Where might you learn and/or improve your knowledge? Any adult school, the community colleges, the universities and vocational schools across all islands are here to help now.

    Finally, for today, ask yourself life’s central questions — “Am I creating the meaningful, longer lifetime I desire and deserve? What form of work, beyond the old-world of jobs, will help me achieve this goal?”

    In the next issue, I will address flexible opportunities in the field of health and wellness; options that are exploding for older workers.

    NEW WORKFORCE HAWAII
    Carleen MacKay
    916-316-0143 | carleenmackayhi@gmail.com
    www.linkedin.com/in/carleenmackay

    This past year has has served as a glaring stoplight for many people who assessed their slim chances of ever working again. The truth is that the changes we have experienced — those due to COVID-19 and more — have opportunities embedded within their threats. As previously promised, here is a straightforward, basic planning model…

  • Mature Workforce Predictions 2020–25

    Carleen MacKay
    Carleen MacKay

    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.

    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).

  • Center Helps Seniors Get Back to Work

    From being a home caretaker, Nene went back to work for extra income. Her job as an Aloha Ambassador enabled her to spread aloha, meet people and make new friends.
    From being a home caretaker, Nene went back to work for extra income. Her job as an Aloha Ambassador enabled her to spread aloha, meet people and make new friends.

    Meaningful employment is one of the best ways to keep fit in every way as we age — socially, mentally and even physically. But some of Waikīkī Community Center’s clients had difficulty finding employment. Retirees also found that the way people look for work has changed significantly. Others felt employers didn’t want to hire them due to their age. Many wanted to change career paths entirely. Therefore, WCC started Back-to-Work Force, a free service employment program focused on adults 50 and over.

    After retiring, John decided to take on a job—in addition to his honey-do list at home. He is now an Elite parking host and loving it.
    After retiring, John decided to take on a job—in addition to his honey-do list at home. He is now an Elite parking host and loving it.

    The program helps match older workers with employment by updating their skills and by working with employers. The program provides a range of services for older workers — creating and updating resumes, online job search and application assistance, interview preparation and training referral. The program then matches clients with one or more of its 25-plus employer partners.

    WAIKĪKĪ COMMUNITY CENTER (501(c) 3 nonprofits)
    310 Paoakalani Ave., Honolulu, HI 96815
    Jill Okimura, Projects Manager: 808-923-1802
    jokimura@waikikicommunitycenter.org
    www.waikikicommunitycenter.org
    FaceBook & Instagram: @waikikicommunitycenter

    Meaningful employment is one of the best ways to keep fit in every way as we age — socially, mentally and even physically. But some of Waikīkī Community Center’s clients had difficulty finding employment. Retirees also found that the way people look for work has changed significantly. Others felt employers didn’t want to hire them…

  • Service Employment Program in Action

    Many seniors approaching retirement age have not built up adequate savings in their Social Security accounts. By finding employment before taking SS withdrawals, seniors can build up accounts and ensure a healthier retirement payments when the time comes.

    The Honolulu Community Action Program Inc. (HCAP) administers the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) for low-income seniors who meet the program’s eligibility requirements: 55 or older, unemployed, resident of O‘ahu, with an income at 125% of the federal poverty guideline. It’s a federally-funded program under Title V of the Older Americans Act.

    The primary focus and goal of SCSEP is to provide the participant the opportunity to gain employment skills through part-time, subsidized, hands-on training and transition them into regular unsubsidized, full-time employment.

    Program participants are also eligible for a subsidized medical examination (up to $50 per year) and can earn Social Security credits during their placement in a job in thier community.

    Contact HCAP for more details.

    HONOLULU COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM (501(c) 3 nonprofits)
    Senior Communty Service Employment Program
    1132 Bishop St., Ste. 100, Honolulu, HI 96813
    808-521-4531 | franky@hcapweb.org
    www.hcapweb.org | www.hcapweb.org/senior-employment-program/

    Many seniors approaching retirement age have not built up adequate savings in their Social Security accounts. By finding employment before taking SS withdrawals, seniors can build up accounts and ensure a healthier retirement payments when the time comes. The Honolulu Community Action Program Inc. administers the Senior Community Service Employment Program for low-income seniors who…