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2/29/04
Labor What can job seekers expect from the labor market in the coming months? Some analysts are forecasting hiring opportunities for seasoned professionals in high-technology and new college graduates with marketable skills and some experience. For example, CollegeGrad.com, the student job site, is predicting a 12.9 percent increase in entry-level hiring this year. ''Entry-level hiring is taking a very positive turn in 2004,'' said Brian Krueger, president of the online job site. ''We are seeing a large increase in the number of entry-level jobs available and they're available in almost every discipline.'' SAP, the big provider of enterprise business software solutions, said it will be looking for seasoned sales professionals with experience in the software industry. The company recently said it will hire at least 500 new professionals for software sales and service positions in the United States and Canada. According to the firm, new jobs will be created in nine US cities, including Boston. The other cities are Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. ''SAP executives are confident that as the economy recovers, companies across a variety of industries will be identifying new opportunities for growth and will be investing in software to support new business processes,'' said company spokeswoman Elizabeth Ricci-Warnook. ''In its recent year-end 2003 earnings press conference, SAP stated that the pace of software buying has begun to pick up and the company expects the trend to continue this year.'' Recruiters and college career service directors said they are expecting demand for college graduates to increase. ''In terms of the technology and engineering sectors, we have been anticipating a marketplace rebound given this year's increased hiring of co-op students,'' said Maureen Crawford Hentz, the director of career services at Wentworth Institute of Technology. ''We are experiencing a very busy spring recruiting season on campus for technology-savvy students.'' Medical Industry Employment Opportunities, an industry sector newsletter, is reporting that medical manufacturers will be seeking to hire new workers this year. The medical product manufacturing industry continues to demonstrate that it is one of the strongest sectors of the US economy, and we expect 2004 to be a boom year for a significant portion of medical manufacturers,'' said publisher David Anast. ''Based on historic hiring patterns in the medical industry and a modest resurgence in the creation of new companies, plus some recent signs of life in new funding for these companies, 2004 is starting out with a stronger base of strength than it did 2003.'' Anast said medical manufacturing firms will be looking to hire seasoned account managers, safety and tax analysts, drug safety and medical information specialists, engineers, healthcare administrators, medical officers, facilities managers, and quality supply engineers and other professionals in the field. Despite those optimistic forecasts, however, fewer than 150,000 jobs are being created each month, according to the US Labor Department. Even so, most Americans are confident that the economy is on the road to recovery. In all, 42 percent say the job market is on the mend. By contrast, 36 percent feel that little has changed over the past year, according to Monster.com. At the same time, 51 percent of human resource professionals are predicting their firms will increase hiring activity moderately to aggressively in 2004, a 35 percent increase over the prior year, the online job service said.
Working life At 90, Gordon E. Cadwgan is one of the oldest practicing financial advisers in Boston. A senior financial consultant at RBC Dain Rauscher, he handles the portfolios of private clients who have been doing business with him for years. Cadwgan started working in financial services in 1935, but he isn't about to retire.
''At 65, well, I was having the time of my life,'' Cadwgan said. ''Then, my wife died in 1992 and it was even more important for me to continue my work. It wasn't my vocation, it was my avocation.'' Cadwgan may have plenty of company. Today, approximately 19 percent of the US workforce is made up of people 50 or older, according to federal statistics. Within the next six years, that percentage is expected to increase to more than 30 percent as more and more employees delay retirement. John McCarthy, also a financial adviser at RBC Dain Rauscher, said many of the company's investment brokers are over 50. ''This is a business that, health willing, you can do forever,'' said McCarthy, 68. ''We've had people retire at 88 or 90. We also have people who in their 80s here.'' Seated in an office with a panoramic view of downtown Boston, Cadwgan talked recently about his work day and his career. He said he starts work between 8:45 and 9:15 a.m. and works until 4 p.m. but takes few new clients these days. Instead, he spends a considerable amount of time reading reports or tracking the progress of his clients' investments online. He is also the co-trustee of a number of accounts, with several banks. ''I always have reading to do,'' Cadwgan said. ''I have accounts that are 25 to 30 years-old and involve the second or third generation. Why do they do business with me? Because they trust me. Some are among my best friends.'' Cadwgan got his start in financial services at Bodell & Co. in Providence. In 1943, Bodell was merged into G.H. Walker & Co., an investment firm founded by George Herbert Walker, the maternal grandfather of President Bush. Cadwgan remained with G.H. Walker for a year and then enlisted in the US Navy. When his tour of duty ended, he returned to the firm. He became a partner in 1958. Three years later, Cadwgan paid a personal call on a small retail home improvement company in North Carolina. The founder of the company had died prematurely at 44, leaving five men in charge. Cadwgan helped put together a plan that allowed the men to purchase the company outright. ''They took it public in 1961 at $12 per share,'' recalled Cadwgan, who was a director of the company for 35 years. ''Since then, the stock has split 480 times. The company is Lowe's. When I first saw those young men, there were 13 stores and the company was doing $39 million in business. They now have 854 stores and they do $26 billion worth of business.'' In 1979, Cadwgan accepted a job offer at Tucker Anthony. The firm, which later became Tucker Anthony Sutro & Co., was acquired by RBC Dain Rauscher in November 2001. Asked how long he planned to continue working, Cadwgan said: ''As long as I am well and I've got my wits.''
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