I’m not generally a fan of age-specific “talent” attraction efforts, but I do appreciate that Tulsa has decided to announce a resolution declaring itself to be a “retirement destination city”, and to seek AARP’s “age friendly city” designation.
But wait, aren’t I a workforce person?
Well, here’s what I suspect at least some folks in Tulsa know. Although the local news coverage was accompanied by photos of elders with limited mobility doing senior aqua aerobics and chair stretches, that’s not really the story. Today’s “retirees” have the time and resources to be community volunteers who support is badly needed. They are often caregivers that enable other people to participate in the workforce and still have enough money left over to pay their bills (which means they can help attract workforce to the places they live). And, in many cases, “retirees” today aren’t really retired at all, they’ve just shifted to participating in the workforce in a different way.
This one is going in the Talent Recruitment of my Workforce Participation Resources Catalogue.