The Labour Market Potential for Scientists, Engineers and Managers in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of the potential employability of the highly-skilled post-retirement from employment in large firms and research institutions in small high-tech firms. The thesis of the study reported here, funded by the Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire (MKOB) Learning and Skills Council (L & SC), is that reemployment might help address problems of skill shortages in the MKOB region, particularly in its increasing number of high-tech firms. Early retirement removes valuable skills from the labour market. The paper has a more general interest because it highlights the considerable challenges to policy makers faced with a diversity of employment profiles within regions.