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Last updated: 3 December 2003
Productive and safe workplaces for an ageing workforce
Our changing workforce demographics
Population ageing, and related workforce ageing, is attracting growing interest internationally, in Australia and in relation to the APS. While the APS represents less than half of the Commonwealth's workers compensation jurisdiction, a recent study reviewed the broad demographic shifts for that sector. The Management Advisory Committee report, Organisational Renewal, found that the APS workforce is ageing faster than the Australian workforce as a whole. This was found to be related to the relative stability of the APS workforce, the large number of 'baby boomers' recruited in the 1960s and 1970s, and a general decline in the proportion of staff aged under 25 over much of the last decade.4
Organisational Renewal reports that workers aged 45 years and over now make up 37 per cent of the APS workforce—up from 25 per cent in 1992. It found that the median age for APS employees has increased by four years over the past decade (from 37 to 41 years), although there are significant variations in the age profile between agencies. There has been a declining share of ongoing engagements amongst young people, who tend to come in at lower classifications, and a greater concentration of older employees at the higher classification levels. In June 2002, 69 per cent of senior executive service employees and 46 per cent of executive-level employees were aged 45 or over, compared with 59 per cent and 35 per cent respectively 10 years ago.
Organisational Renewal reports that the APS is now somewhat older than the wider workforce, but has a smaller share of both younger workers and employees over 55. It is predicted that the APS will continue to age. Projections for 2012 show an increase in the age profile, with the highest proportion expected to be in the 45-49 age group, as shown in Figure 1.
As the Organisational Renewal report emphasises, in the future agencies will face increased competition for new entrants, and an increasing challenge to retain skilled people in a tight labour market. The introduction of more flexible work arrangements and enhanced succession planning within Commonwealth agencies is expected to increase the retention and use of the invaluable corporate knowledge and expertise of experienced employees. At the workplace level, however, Commonwealth agencies will also need to review their risk and performance management strategies to ensure that, where necessary, work organisation and job design are modified to meet the needs of an ageing workforce.
This report describes the current state of knowledge on the work performance and workplace health issues that are of particular relevance for an ageing workforce. It also presents general guidelines on how to sustain higher proportions of employees in good health and free of injury as they age.
4 Management Advisory Committee, 2003
