TED Talk. Rainer Strack: The workforce crisis of 2030…

2.02.2015

… and how to start solving it now

By 2030 – are mere 15 years from now! – many of the world’s major economies will have more job openings on offer than adult citizens to fill them. It is common knowledge that the demographic scales are tipping and will soon be seriously out of balance. In their quest for job seekers ready to subscribe to a work life of international mobility, countries must peer beyond their borders, says Human Resources expert Rainer Strack. His advice for economies and companies alike is to start thinking in terms of a “people strategy“: Forecasting supply & demand, finding ways to attract great talent and to upscale, educate and finally to successfully retain them and their manpower. A chart shows the present wish list of countries given the best marks by possible future expatriates and prospective naturalised citizens.


The essence of this truly charming talk is this: People’s predominant requirement for their jobs is recognition. Which makes the most critical factor for the world community a change of attitude – and thus a change of cultural views!

At the Boston Consulting Group, as a Senior Partner and Managing Director, Rainer Strack is the global leader of the HR department. He has written a number of articles on human resources and on demographic risk management & strategic workforce planning, both published in the Harvard Business Review. “The Global Workforce Crisis,” “Decoding Global Talent,” and “Creating People Advantage.” were published in 2014.

Strack holds master’s degrees in physics and business plus a PhD in physics from RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
He acts as an honorary professor at Witten/Herdecke University, Germany.

Header image ©Christina Feyerke