Dinosaurs needn't fear extinction yet

From the Echo, first published Tuesday 14th Oct 2003.

ON the eve of my 46th birthday it was a bit disconcerting to read in the Echo last week about a new recruitment franchise aimed at unemployed over-45s and called Dinosaurs Unlim-ited! I knew I was getting old, but a dinosaur!

Having recovered my composure, I have to say this seems an excellent idea.

I have written previously about the demographic timebomb waiting to engulf us. Over the last three years we have managed to maintain nearly full employment during a time of economic slowdown.

What happens when the economy starts growing? Where are all the job applicants going to come from?

Statisticians believe that the position is going to get worse rather than better.

Of course, there are forces pulling in the other direction. The Abbey (formerly Abbey National) announced last week that it was going ahead with a project to move substantial numbers of jobs to India.

This sort of trend is going to continue. Nevertheless, it will be a very brave employer who does not start thinking about how he is going to compete for good quality staff in a declining job market. In this context, it looks like we dinosaurs can safely rely on not becoming extinct too soon!

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