A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE OF CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC-TRENDS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HRM PRACTICES IN 3 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Recent changes in the demographic structures of industrialized nations pose a potentially serious threat to work organizations in terms of t heir ability to attract and retain high calibre personnel. Specificall y, the number of young people in their late teens and early-to-mid twe nties is on the decline at the present time, coupled with a long-term recession, thus posing a dilemma for organizations concerned to develo p and maintain a viable workforce. This article reports the findings o f a three-country comparative study, conducted in The Netherlands, Fra nce and the United Kingdom, designed to investigate the extent to whic h graduate employers are aware of current demographic trends in the la bour market and what HRM policies they are instituting, given this con text. The findings reveal considerable levels of ignorance across all three countries, suggesting that attempts by various Government bodies , employers' organizations, professional associations and academics to draw attention to the potentially serious consequences of inadequate planning and future skill provision have largely failed. The results i ndicate that many organizations are engaging in human resource strateg ies which are not well suited to meeting the challenges of the 1990s.