New Zealand workforce to struggle due to ageing population

Skilled migrants are especially treasured by New Zealand as the country tries to overcome severe shortages in some areas, combined with an increasingly ageing population.

New Zealand’s workforce is growing collectively older, and the country needs to not only to adjust itself to that fact but also to get ready to face skills shortages as the current active population retires, leaving some professions short of enough qualified people to do the work required.

While not a new phenomenon by any means, this is a key finding of a review of the 1991-2006 Census returns by researchers at the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, released in July 2009.

The research results reinforce the idea that “recruiting, retaining and engaging staff is critically important in an economic downturn, when people’s skills, intelligence and creativity are really put to the test”.

Men reaching the age of retirement, and women taking themselves out of the workforce in their 30s, are bound to increase skills shortages in industries such as law, medicine and planning.

According to the report, in terms of labour force participation, the age groups showing the greatest increase from 1991 to 2006 were the over-50s. “Whilst still relatively small, the number of people aged 70+ doing paid work almost tripled during this period, and those in paid work aged 60-69 more than doubled.”

“While the labour force is projected to continue to grow, the rate of growth will decline markedly from 30% for the 15-year period 1991-2006, to 15% from 2006-2021 and 4% from 2021 to 2036. (…) The numbers of those aged 65+ is likely to increase until 2016 before levelling off,” adds the report.

Skills shortages

While the supply side of the labour force is increasingly female and getting older, in July 2008 the demand side showed skill shortages in many areas, such as most health professionals, engineers of all types, IT specialists and a range of trades, as well as more specific areas such as senior accountants, auditors, senior policy analysts, microbiologists and graphic designers.

Older occupations

Occupations with older workforce profiles than the workforce average are bus drivers and railway engine drivers, all levels of the education sector, nurses and midwives, social workers, and fitters and turners.

For example, half of all dentists are aged 45+, and a third 50+. Like doctors, their peak age shifted from 30-34 in 1991 to 45-49 in 2006.