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Beware the trends, Salt tells industry

Economist says skills will be at a premium as baby boomers fade from the scene

By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | March 15, 2013

Demographic change will shape consumer markets and pose a dramatic threat to the business models of many supply chain and transport companies, an economist warns.

KPMG Partner Bernard Salt, who addressed the Australian Logistics Council (ALC) Forum in Melbourne yesterday, is urging the industry to align itself with Australian trends within the next decade as baby boomers will take their skills out of the workforce and into retirement.

“The next 10 years we will go from 22 million people to 25 million people and we need to think what the infrastructure and supply chain implementations of that shift are,” Salt says.

“What business should you be in in the next 20 years? It’s about getting it right now or you’ll bleed to death waiting for a long-term trend.

“My view of business planning and strategic thinking is to align your business with the narrative of how Australians would want to live their life over the next decade.”

The baby bust, or the “big tilt” as Salt calls it, will see boomers exit the workforce at a faster rate than generation Y is expected to enter the productive stage of their life cycle, resulting in skill shortage.

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