Discussion topic #1

Concept and brief description:

Higher Age in the Workforce:
There has been an increase in the age of workers. Our elderly are spending more of their retirement years working to make enough to be able to retire sometime soon in the future. The retirement age has also increased due to the economy and due to people’s inability to save money. We are a nation of credit and we are beginning to see the results that come from that. The fastest growing group in the workforce are people who are 55 years and older. This affects all of the job force because the younger generations are unable to fill those spots if people are not retiring from them.

Emotional hook (provocative question/ claim/real-life problem):

What if you are unable to get a job in the field that you want due to the older generation working longer into their retirement years or even until they die? Would this affect your ability to secure a stable job in your career? If you can’t get a job in the area that you desire, you will have to look at some other area that may not be so pleasant or interesting.

Key points to elicit in discussion

The older generation will need new training so they are able to have the skills needed to do a better job. Health insurance for the company will be more expensive to cover the costs of the older workers so therefore the younger generation will be forced to pay more for their own coverage.

Facilitative questions

How can we adapt to the growing age of the workers? Will this facilitate in growth or will it be an expense?