Responding to an ageing workforce and the implications for engineering management

Most organisations are, or in the near future will be, faced with the need to respond to issues associated with their ageing workforce. This paper explores the implications of workforce ageing on engineering management, and reviews one organisation's implementation of a programme designed to mitigate the effects of workforce ageing on the potential for loss of knowledge and effectiveness as experienced personnel retire. This successful programme is analysed through a framework provided by systems thinking, to understand the effects of the non-traditional approach to programme management used in this case.