Demographics

The population of the UK is changing, the average age of the workforce is getting older, more people are reaching retirement age and there are not enough young people to take their place. These factors will increase the competition for talented individuals who are able to plug the skills gaps which are emerging in the regional, national and global economies.

The aging population will create a number of opportunities and threats to the UK economy, whilst many industries will find it difficult to find skilled graduates to enter their companies, they will also have the benefit of holding on to experienced staff members beyond 60 or 65 years of age. There will be an increasing number of people who depend on resources such as the NHS and Social Services, but there will also be new opportunities for companies in these sectors to develop new products such as home care solutions.

Attracting and retaining graduates will be important to the UK and to the North East of England in particular. Local universities have a vital role to play in bringing students in from elsewhere in the UK and from around the world.

The importance of young people cannot be underestimated but either can the importance of making full use of the older members of the workforce. In the future people are likely to be working well beyond the current retirement age, in some cases this will be a choice, but in others they will have to work in order to earn enough money to survive.

Populations are also becoming increasingly diverse, whilst most areas have successfully integrated new cultures and nationalities into their population, others have struggled and there have been examples of social tensions caused by clashes between the incoming and existing populations. A diverse and well integrated population has been shown to be a catalyst for entrepreneurial activity and economic growth.

In the future, businesses will have to balance the approach they take to their workforce. As competition for talented individuals increases companies will have to work even harder to attract new individuals to the company, but an equal amount of emphasis will be placed on retaining the talented staff they already have.