Chief Learning Officer - May 2006 - (Page 28)

CO0506.qxd 4/18/06 1:10 PM Page 28 environment The Baby Boomer Educa ting Those A f t e r World War II ended in 1945, m i l l i o n s of American military personnel returned to a c o u n t r y transformed. T h e United States had pulled itself out of the Great Depression of t h e 1930s, d o u b l i n g the size of its gross domestic product in just a decade. I n fact, i t s i n d u s t r i a l output comprised close to half of the world total. A l o n g with this newfound p e a c e and prosperity came an extraordinary rise in U.S. b i r t h rates, a n eruption that was s u s t a i n e d for the next two decades. C l o s e to 80 million people were brought into this w o r l d as a result of that explosion hence the moniker baby boomers. May 2006 Now, more than 40 years after the first wave of the baby boomer generation entered the U.S. workforce, they are starting to leave it. Over the next few years, millions of people are expected to retire, which some have suggested will create a massive vacuum of leadership, knowledge and experience across organiza- I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer tions and industries. Just how significant this trend will be and to what extent learning and develop- ment can play a positive role depends largely on a few demographic factors. A big part of the problem, though, is that much of the conversation around these issues so far has verged on hysteria. Some mod- eration and restraint is called for to explain exactly what the ramifications of these dynamics might be and how enterprises can cope. Discussions have started, but some of the people have started hyping it like it's Y2K you know, the world's going to come to an end, said Robert Rosen, chief information officer at the National Institute of Arthritis and Muscular, Skeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institute of Health, which is with- in the Department of Health and Human Services. I don't think that's the case. In order to remain cred- 28  http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - May 2006

Editor's Note
Table of Contents
Letters to the Editor
Take Five
Selling Up, Selling Down
Imperatives
Strategies
Guest Editorial
Learning Solutions
Robbins-Gioia University
Environment
Deloitte & Touche USA
CLO Profile
Productivity
Washington Gas
Case Study
Human Capital
Health Care Service Corp.
Tactics
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
Business Intelligence
In Conclusion
Advertiser's Index
Editorial Resources

Chief Learning Officer - May 2006

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