Just saw the entire movie at a local SHiFT event. Very cool. These people embrace the school called life and, in their own lives, did great things.
Chuck Spayne, a former Intel facilities manager, is retraining for a green job at Ohlone Community College in Fremont, Calif. Photo by Craig Lee
It might be hard to believe in the midst of this enduring recession, but once the economy stabilizes, we will likely be moving from a job crisis to a talent shortage. A new research report sponsored by Civic Ventures and MetLife Foundation predicts that in less than 10 years, there will be more jobs than people to fill them. And nearly half of them – roughly 2.4 million – will be in social sector jobs. At the same time, according to companion reports on health care, green jobs and education, new kinds of jobs – such as energy auditors, chronic illness coaches and sustainability consultants – will become increasingly common.
As more people choose to age in their homes, they will need assistance from home modification specialists, health care navigators and medication coaches. Others will take the conversation about greening our world from dream to reality. Those in construction and contracting fields will focus their attention on weatherizing buildings and retrofitting structures. And still others will be part of transforming the way children are cared for and educated.
Clearly this is good news for those who have the ability to plan, but how can you make use of this research if you’re looking for an encore career now or in the next few years?
- Review the sections of the reports that provide job descriptions, qualifications and training. Scan those to see if any appeal.
If something piques your interest, but you don’t think the job is yet there, is there any interim path you can envision to help get you prepared? If you’re not yet ready to move into an encore career, volunteer and start to build relationships in the sectors that interest you. When you’re ready to look for a position, you’ll have a sense of what you might want to do and a network in place to help you. If you are entrepreneurial, look at these studies for ideas of trends that will provide opportunities. You might think of a way to provide help to an aging population, much like Elaine Santore did with Umbrella Group of The Capital District, which matches up individuals over 50 with handypeople to help with household chores. As you read the lists of new and emerging jobs, remember that those are merely illustrative of jobs of the future. Try to imagine others. If you’re already in a field, such as nursing, where increased demand is expected, think about whether you’d like to work differently in the future. If you’ve worked full time, maybe you’ll want to cut your hours. If you’ve worked exclusively in hospitals, perhaps you’ll want to work with people in their homes. Tap into organizations looking at new ways to use human talent to address important needs. See what’s going on at your local hospital or schools, or in nonprofits in your community. Community colleges will also give you a good sense of what is going on in your area as they develop programs to address needs of all age groups. Adopt a lifelong learning mindset. Whether you’re moving into an entirely new sector or shifting to a new role in a field where you have years of experience, if you want to be competitive, you’re always going to be training for the next position or to remain cutting edge in your current one. Many of the jobs in these studies are some form of mentoring, training or coaching. If you thrive when teaching others, think about ways to use your experience to guide others in these emerging fields. What do you think about these research reports? Know anyone already working in these fields? Share your comment below.
This report looks at the coming job shortage and how baby boomers will be key in filling in labor gaps.
AboutWelcome to The Other 85 Percent. So what does “the other 85 percent” refer to? Research has shown that only about 15 percent of higher education students still fit the traditional definition of young adults age 18 to 22 who live on campus and go to school full time. more
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Interesting blog. The California situation is playing out across the US as states cut budgets for public schools. It remains to be seen if these reductions drive adult learners to for-profit schools. Stay tuned.
First steps toward Miami!
On Saturday, March 27th, Jordan Dibb began his 1,800 mile trek from Minneapolis to Miami. Jordan hopes to raise $100,000 for food and water for the people of Haiti: one dollar at a time, one step at a time.
Jordan’s adventure began at 9:00 with a warm-up walk around Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. Inspired by his story, Jordan was joined by family, college and high school friends, teachers, a church youth group and new web friends including a wonderful Haitian gentleman and his wife. As the crowd began their goodbyes, a 9-year-old cousin hugged Jordan one last time, looked up and asked, “When you get to Miami, will you have to walk back?” As the crowd laughed, Jordan simply hugged his young cousin and smiled.
Read Jordan’s inspirational story here. Send well wishes to Jordan here. Click here to find out if Jordan will walk through your town. Or follow Jordan’s journey here. Go Jordan!!! May you have a safe and prosperous journey.
Civic Ventures…
Internships for mid-career individuals. Fun!!!
New from the MMI:
Still Out, Still AgingThe MetLife Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Baby Boomers
MetLife’s Mature Market Institute is a wealth of research on issues of interest to baby boomers. Now if I can interest them in adding a study about adult learners…
Civic Ventures’ Community College Encore Career program is looking for six innovative community colleges to win $25,000 grants each to support campus programs geared at retraining adults over 50 for encore careers in education and health. Deadline: April 12, 2010. Read about the 2009 and 2007 winners.
This is a great website for adult learners!
What a clever way to raise scholarship funds! Read how this started with one student trading his worn pencil for a tote bag that was traded for something else and so on and so forth…with the goal of eventually raising $250,000 in scholarships to help kids stay in school. Hmmm…. if it works perhaps we can convince AARP or another group to use the same model for adult student scholarships.
Note: This web version of the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Summary (in html and pdf) includes minor technical corrections to the print version that was issued on February 1, 2010
- Summary of the 2011 Budget
- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
- The 2011 Budget by Program Area
- Programs Proposed for Consolidation or Elimination
- Departmental Management
- Appendix 1: Summary of Discretionary Funds, Fiscal Years 2009-2011, in PDF [11KB] and EXCEL [29KB]
- Appendix 2: Advance Appropriations for Department of Education, in PDF [8KB] and EXCEL [KB]
- Appendix 3: Expenditures for Elementary and Secondary Education in the U.S., in PDF [6KB]
- Appendix 4: Detailed Budget Table by Program, in PDF [94KB] and EXCEL [235KB]
This document is also available in portable document format (PDF). To read PDF files you will need Adobe’s Acrobat Reader; if you do not have Acrobat you can download a free copy from Adobe.
Fiscal Year 2011 Education Budget Summary and Background Information (PDF [947KB])
More details and links to career, technical and adult ed, financial aid and higher ed programs.
