The Benefits of Hiring and Retaining Older Workers.

From Louis Pin, Sarnia Observer.

Sarnia’s workforce is not getting any younger. One in every four people in the regional is now 55 years or older and the average age of residents in Sarnia and Lambton County is 45, a full four years older than the provincial mark.

Those numbers are not expected to decrease any time soon.

That’s the crux of a seminar Nov. 7 hosted by the Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board, about how local businesses can improve by hiring and retaining older workers. The employer-focused session will come with two reports surrounding Sarnia’s workforce, local trends, and suggestions for business owners.

“Flexibility is going to be key,” said Shauna Carr, executive director of the development board. “We’re finding a lot of our older folks want to re-enter the workforce . . . if employers are flexible (with their needs) they’re going to get and keep really great older workers.”

Having older workers pays dividends, Carr added, both in teaching younger workers and fostering the soft skills employers say are lacking in the workforce. Those soft skills include teamwork, punctuality, customer service, and other job-applicable actions not addressed in a degree.

It remains one of the qualities most requested by employers in the annual Employer One survey, conducted by the development board every January.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Courtesy Shauna Carr, Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board.

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'Butterfly Care' for Seniors Coming to Sarnia.

From Pam Wright, Sarnia Journal.

A senior housing complex approved for south Sarnia will use a non-traditional approach called the “butterfly care” concept for residents with dementia.

Construction of the Overture on Devine is expected to begin early next year on the site of the former Devine Street School.

The $41-million project will house 260 residents and employ about 130 people, said Don McLeod, managing director for Overture Investments.

“It’s care from a social perspective, not just a clinical perspective,” he said. “Butterfly care looks at a person with dementia as a person, not a patient or resident.”

The interior will use special flooring and lighting to create a homey, village-type atmosphere, with each floor having its own 'neighbourhood,' he said.

Each neighbourhood will consist of independent studio-type suites that surround a centralized kitchen, lounge area and sunshine room.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Overture Investments.

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Retired Teacher Plays Saxophone on the Beach.

Zach Neal photo.

From Cathy Dobson, The Sarnia Journal.

High school teacher Al Weiss may be retired but his schedule is quickly filling with musical projects and live shows.

It’s no surprise for those who know him. He’s a high-energy kind of guy.

And he loves the saxophone.

“I’m just starting to play out again,” he said, “and I’m down at the water nearly every day.”

Weiss can often be found on the waterfront, near the Blue Water Bridge or in Canatara Park, belting out a tune on his sax.

“I don’t want to impose on anyone but it’s good for the soul to play by the water,” he says. “It’s good for the diaphragm too.”

Link to the rest here.

Thank you for reading.