Mentoring the answer to difficulties in hiring talent and an aging population

According to the latest Future of Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum, Poland is among the countries where employers have the worst assessment of their ability to hire valuable employees in the coming years. This, along with an aging population, can create quite a challenge for HR teams. Fortunately, we have mentoring at our disposal – a tool that, when properly implemented, can partially solve these problems.

In this article you will learn more about the findings of the report from WEF and how mentoring can help your organization. 

Future of Jobs Report from World Economic Forum 

The Future of Jobs report is a publication created and made available by the World Economic Forum. It is based on surveys filled out by representatives of over 1,000 companies that collectively employ some million workers in 55 countries around the world.

This publication is issued periodically every two years. The first report dates back to 2016. Each report is available to the public, and the publication itself and its conclusions are carefully read not only by HR teams, but also by executives, business owners and even funds and the investment industry.

The latest publication is dated January 2025, and this article is based on it. Link to this report: https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_Report_2025.pdf 

Talent availability and an aging population a key conclusion for Poland 

According to the Future of Jobs report, a key finding for Europe’s employment market is the low availability of talent and an aging population: 

“[…] Talent availability is also seen as an issue, with 52% of employers operating in the country expecting an aging and shrinking workforce to affect their business over the next five years, and 65% anticipating hiring challenges. […]” .

Poland was ranked 4th from the bottom in terms of how employers view the deterioration of the availability of skilled workers between 2025 and 2030, surpassed only by Hungary, Latvia and Estonia.

As many as 65% of employers in Europe predict that the situation in hiring talent will get worse

At the same time, we are at the top of the list (12th place) in terms of the negative impact that an aging population has on the health of companies.

The situation, as you can see, is serious and employers are already recognizing the potential problems arising from the shortage of skilled workers. 

Mentoring as one of the solutions to the problem of the aging population 

Of course, we won’t reverse demographics on our own, but as employers we are in a position to prepare for the coming changes. The Future of Jobs report indicates that one of the key areas that will be important in developing and attracting qualified employees will be mentoring:

“Ongoing demographic changes, particularly the aging and shrinking workforce in developed economies, are expected to become a significant driver of demand for skills. The aging and shrinking working-age population is forcing organizations to prioritize talent management, teaching and mentoring, and motivation and self-awareness Alongside these priorities, there is a growing emphasis on empathy and active listening, resource management and customer service, highlighting the growing need for interpersonal and operational skills that can meet the specific needs of an aging workforce and foster more inclusive work environments.” .

In addition to the above comments, the report also points to the main types of actions companies take to attract talent to themselves. The three most frequently mentioned are: 

• Supporting the health and well-being of employees: 64%

• Ensuring effective retraining and upskilling: 63%

• Improving talent development and promotion processes: 62%

And here again it is worth noting mentoring, which in its assumptions touches each of the above-mentioned areas. 

Mentoring is, according to research, an effective solutionraising well-being in the workplace (see more on this topic). It is also an effective method of improving skills and transferring, but also retaining knowledge in the organization And ultimately, mentoring directly affects promotions and awards – for both Mentees and Mentors – here you can read research on this.

If you are interested in mentoring in your organization, I also invite you to: 

• read the company’s mentoring implementation guide,

• download our mentoring checklist

• and ultimately to contact us. We would be happy to help you introduce mentoring to your organization.