On May 3, Ray Marshall, Center founder and former Secretary of Labor for the U.S. Department of Labor participated in Tapping Mature Talent: Policies for the 21st Century Workforce, a workforce development conference hosted by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and the National Governors Association. The goal of the conference, which was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., was to address the experiences of aging workers and explore policies and opportunities to build on their skills and experience to further strengthen the U.S. economy. In the photo below, CAEL President & CEO, Pam Tate, welcomed the speakers of the first panel: (L-R) Peter Cappelli, Director for the Center for Human Resources at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; Dick Wilkerson, former Chairman & President for Michelin North America; and Ray Marshall, former Secretary of Labor for the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
The panelists discussed the many different ways mature workers contribute to the workforce and the economy. In February 2012, CAEL published a related brief arguing that mature workers “have a strong work ethic, have lower absentee rates, and are reliable and loyal” yet able to “offer employers flexibility to ramp up and ramp down with the fluctuation of market demands.” The full CAEL brief is available at this link: Just Add Seasoning: A Business Case for Tapping Mature Talent.
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