BOOMERSPLUS.COM TAPPING INTO HUGE TALENT POOL OF RETIREES
When Halifax-based entrepreneur Rick Emberley sold the communications business he had been building for three decades, the 60-something executive was hardly ready for retirement. Instead he turned his attention to his fellow baby boomers — that massive demographic that began hitting the age of retirement en masse in 2011. Emberley created BoomersPlus.com, an online service directed at people 50 and older. Today BoomersPlus.com is focused on finding new employment opportunities for those who have left their traditional careers. “We’ve created an efficient and effective portal to connect businesses, not-for-profits and community organizations with experienced people over the age of 50,” says Emberley. “We’re building a database of individuals who are interested in seeking part-time, temporary work, term assignments and opportunities of that nature, because they’re finished with their full-time, nine-to-five careers,” says Emberley. “The people who register with us are looking for an alternative to traditional retirement. They have a lifetime of learned skills and experience and they want to continue to use those skills for the betterment of their community. The intent at the moment is to connect those individuals to employers who are looking to fill those types of positions.” usually described as work/life balance. “Our clients have worked exceptionally hard throughout their long careers. Now they’re looking to continue to use their expertise and experience, but they want to do it on their own terms — to be able to balance into their lifestyle other activities, interests, hobbies, etcetera.” The demand to find post-retirement opportunities is rising quickly as the number of retired boomers rises.
“As this so-called boomer generation moves through the economy and the workforce, they are leaving some significant gaps in terms of talent and skill,” says Emberley. “Sometimes it’s necessary to fill those gaps on a temporary basis while the next generation develops the necessary expertise.”
The employers who are reaching out to BoomersPlus.com cover a number of sectors of the economy including notfor-profit organizations, construction and development, tourism, finance and many others. They are tapping into a database containing the names of several thousand individuals with a myriad of skills, talents and experience. The average age of professionals in the database is approximately 57-years-old.
Last year BoomersPlus.com was recognized as one of the recipients of the first annual 50 Over 50 Awards, a program honouring Canadian companies started by entrepreneurs over the age of 50. The winners were selected from all 10 provinces and the Northwest Territories. Emberley says that while BoomersPlus. com started as a job matchmaking service, it is quickly evolving into something much more comprehensive. “We are exploring opportunities to move into other areas within our demographic group,” he says. “That would include services for things like travel and leisure, health care and retirement planning. We hope to become a one-stop source for information related to boomers.”