Speaker: Springfield can overcome looming worker shortage

But Rebecca Ryan, founder and president of Madison, Wis.-based Next Generation Consulting, thinks Springfield is better equipped to handle the situation than many other communities, due in large part to the area’s large number of colleges and universities.

That was part of Ryan’s message as keynote speaker at Tuesday’s Economic Outlook Conference at University Plaza Convention Center, presented by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Springfield Business Development Corp.

“You want the city’s age graph to show that the majority of people are in their earning years,” she said. “Springfield, for the most part, has that.”

Information from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that nearly 40 percent of Springfield’s population is between the ages of 20 and 44, while only 15 percent is 65 or older.

Nationwide, Ryan said, two boomers will retire for every one person entering the work force in 2012, leading to a shortage of both overall workers and management experience.

That situation, combined with a fundamental shift from a goods-based economy to one built around information and knowledge, means business leaders have to find new methods of attracting and retaining young professionals.

While she told the crowd “there are no magic bullets” to solve the problem, there are several ways to deal with the situation.

The most important item, she said, is to make sure young professionals have “a seat at the table” in decision-making, which also encourages diversity of ideas and backgrounds.

See SBJ’s Sept. 22 issue for more from the Fifth Annual Economic Outlook Conference.