The Baby Boomers are a demographic of the UK and other countries that resulted from an unprecedented increase in births post-WWII. The Baby Boomer generation is defined as those who were born between 1946 and 1960. In those years after the war, couples concentrated on building their families, increasing the average number of children per household in the process. Education became a priority and the work ethic was at an all-time high. They swept along with the booming progress that occurred over the past decades. The higher levels of the corporate and professional world were subsequently filled with large numbers of highly skilled and experienced workers as they matured on the job. Now the time for retirement of this group has come, and over the next decade or two their exit from the workforce will create serious gaps in manpower. There aren't enough qualified workers to fill the vacancies they are leaving behind.
In all professions, shortages will become evident. Replacing the Baby Boomers with enough younger competent workers will be difficult, since the replacement force is smaller than the current one. The exit of Boomers will increase at such a rate that there will not be time for those down the company lines to be trained properly. Many UK youth are not interested in training for these traditional jobs, and this decreases the pool from which UK employers can find workers. This is true of most traditional job arenas from the blue collar level up to the post-graduate level.
Since there are fewer young people who are working their way to the top employers are seeking qualified workers from other sectors. Immigrants have proven to be a rich source of manpower, and jobs are opening up for foreign workers who want to come to the UK along with their families. Those immigrants who are highly educated and skilled in the various professional areas will find good jobs available. Without the need for further training or mentoring, they will be valuable to their employers, more so as time goes on. They have an opportunity to become a very important part of the UK workforce, enjoying timely advancements and competitive pay.
