At Wayne State University's TechTown research and technology park, workers and retirees over 50 are the fastest growing group seeking business and technology training. The trend at TechTown reflects a broader national shift in post-recession U.S. workforce demographics. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, self-employed people 55 to 64 grew by 93,000 in 2009 and by 213,000 among people 65 and older. Self-employment for all other age groups declined.
Put simply, many older Americans are choosing to work for themselves, both for financial and emotional reasons. Ironically, they are proving as "entrepreneurial" in creating employment opportunities as their Generation Y counterparts.
BOOM! The New Economy launched in January of 2011 as an initiative of the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, which brought community partners Operation Able and the Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation together with TechTown under its "Boom" umbrella. The program provides adults 40 and older with training, resources, networking and volunteer opportunities to work with more than 250 start-up companies that are currently supported by TechTown and Wayne State University through a wide range of business services. The community partners help mature individuals re-enter the workforce. The combination of these initiatives is creating a talent pool of Baby Boomer interns, mentors and entrepreneurs at TechTown who are redefining the meaning of retirement and reversing the Baby Boomer "brain drain" that occurred in Michigan when many companies were forced to shed their most experienced and highest paid employees during the recession.
"As America's population ages, it is essential that older Americans continue to enlist their skills and knowledge to bolster the U.S. economy," said Peter Lichtenberg, Ph.D., director of Wayne State's Institute of Gerontology, which recently joined TechTown in the submission of a grant application to receive state funding to support the Boom! The New Economy initiative. "Wayne State's Institute of Gerontology conducts research on best practices that can help make TechTown a model for business incubators nationwide."
Thirty-three percent of the would-be entrepreneurs who attended TechTown's "FastTrac to the Future" training sessions were 46 or older and 11 percent were 56 or older. FastTrac is a program of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo. The FastTrac program, which is administered through TechTown, provides existing and aspiring entrepreneurs with key business insights and skills, and networking and mentoring opportunities to start, grow and lead businesses. In addition to inquiries about entrepreneur development, TechTown has experienced a significant increase in the number of older adults and retirees seeking internship opportunities.
According to TechTown Executive Director Randal Charlton, the experienced Baby Boomers are successfully filling talent gaps to help make fledgling companies viable.
"The average age of southeast Michigan's population is steadily increasing, and Baby Boomers and older adults are vital to shaping and growing our future economy," Charlton said. "In the past decade, adults 55-64 have had the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity. They are critical to southeast Michigan and must be recognized, nurtured and respected as we move forward in the transformation of our economy and creating more desirable, livable communities attractive to people of all ages, cultures and abilities."
Charlton added that economic activity generated by older Americans is good for attracting and retaining young talent as well.
"Baby Boomers have shorter timelines for launching start-up companies, according to survey research by the Kauffman Foundation," Charlton said. "Their professional and life experiences help drive their entrepreneurial success, and in the process, create jobs for college graduates and young professionals. It's a positive and self-reinforcing cycle that none of us could have foreseen a decade ago."
About BOOM! The New Economy
BOOM! The New Economy was initiated by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which chose TechTown, Operation ABLE and the Hannan Foundation as grant recipients. It is an innovative series of services to help unemployed Baby Boomers retool for re-entry into the workforce. It also addresses issues that can prevent re-entry into the workforce by unemployed older adults who need or want to continue working. The program has three tracks of training services: senior interns, mentors, and entrepreneurs. The design of each track includes development and deployment of training curricula in a series of workshops, seminars and classes to equip trainees to fill effectively their roles as interns, mentors and entrepreneurs. For more information about BOOM! The New Economy at Wayne State University's TechTown, visit http://boomtheneweconomy.org/.
Wayne State University and TechTown Experts
Peter Lichtenberg, Ph.D., director, Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University
Peter Lichtenberg obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1986 from Purdue University. He completed post doctoral training in Geriatric Neuropsychology at the University of Virginia where he also joined the faculty. Lichtenberg is in his 13th year directing the Institute of Gerontology which in addition to being a nationally recognized center of excellence for gerontology research and training has an extensive community engagement and continuing education program. Lichtenberg has been a Principal Investigator on several research and training grants totaling more than $10,000,000 from the National Institutes of Health.
Stewart Neufeld, Ph.D., assistant professor, Gerontology, Wayne State University
Stewart Neufeld's main research focus is on perception of and attitudes toward risk, particularly on how personal constructions of risk intersect with objective measures of financial planning. He was the principal investigator on a Wayne State University funded project investigating the relationship between risk and retiree financial decision-making. Neufeld has authored 20 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Randal Charlton, executive director of TechTown
At 71 years old, Randal Charlton has substantial experience managing issues unique to senior entrepreneurs. As a senior, Mr. Charlton co-founded Asterand, a supplier of human tissues for drug discovery and development. In 2007, Mr. Charlton became executive director of TechTown, where he has led with vision, successfully developing TechTown's commercial leasing and business incubator platforms. His unique and extensive experience qualifies Mr. Charlton to manage a program to help older adult entrepreneurs find their way in the business world.
Sheu Jane Gallagher, manager, TechTown Mentors Program
Sheu-Jane Gallagher manages the Mentors Program at TechTown. She also provides consultant and project management services to local nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University with a special expertise in biomedical engineering.
Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.