🔒Job growth is key to replacing aging workforce

This week Hartford Business Journal wraps up the latest installment of its “Connecticut's Silver Tsunami” series with a look at new business opportunities being created by the state's aging population.

HBJ has now dedicated six issues and written more than a dozen stories on the topic of Connecticut's graying population, done to shed light on an issue that we believe poses fundamental challenges and opportunities for the state in the years ahead. Don't take our word for it: The genesis of this series came from business owners and executives who raised red flags at several of our reader roundtables about the impact this generational shift will have on Connecticut's economy.

We've highlighted several issues related to our aging population, but one that is most acute to our long-term economic well-being is workforce development and figuring out who will replace Baby Boomers as they head into retirement.

HBJ News Editor Gregory Seay recently reported that Connecticut doesn't have a master plan to replace its aging workforce, but there are many different public- and private-sector initiatives underway to groom the next generation of business, civic and nonprofit leaders. New apprenticeship and training programs in manufacturing and the expansion of internships in the Capital City are all steps in the right direction.

But the only way Connecticut is going to have a healthy future workforce is through job growth. Plain and simple, people, particularly working-age individuals in their 20s and 30s, flock to cities and states that offer ample opportunities to start and nurture a career. Unfortunately, Connecticut, for far too long, hasn't been a haven for new job creation.

That, in turn, has contributed to the state's brain drain as younger workers constantly face the push and pull of job meccas in New York City and Boston.

The numbers speak for themselves: The size of Connecticut's workforce is shrinking. A report by New York City business researcher The Conference Board predicts the state's working population will shrink 3.3 percent in the next 15 years, factoring in retirements, births, emigration and immigration.

In the next 10 years, 35 percent of Connecticut's population will be aged 55 years or older, according to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.

State government doesn't need to develop a blueprint to help every industry in Connecticut figure out how to groom a future workforce. Focusing its limited financial resources on certain job-training programs for crucial industries like manufacturing is smart policy.

What state policymakers do need to make a priority is creating a fertile business climate that is attractive to businesses in myriad industries. Unfortunately, lawmakers missed out on that opportunity during the recent legislative session by raising taxes by $1.3 billion.

Continuing to increase the cost of doing business in the state will further alienate businesses, but establishing a competitive business environment doesn't mean we need major, across-the-board tax cuts. Let's face it, that isn't happening anytime soon in the Land of Steady Habits, although we must better control spending.

Most importantly, we need consistent policy that gives businesses incentives to operate here. That, too, has been lacking. For example, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy won much praise for his billion-dollar-plus investment in the bioscience industry, but during the recent legislative session he signed a budget that put new restrictions on research and development tax credits, which are crucial to companies engaged in scientific research.

Connecticut is one of a few states that still hasn't recovered all the jobs lost (119,000) during the Great Recession. Prior to 2008, Connecticut didn't experience net new job growth in decades. If we continue along these lines as our employees get older and retire, workforce constraints will encourage companies to look elsewhere for talent.

If we don't confront the issue now, it will haunt us for decades to come.