The UK, in common with many other advanced economies, has an ageing population, characterized by a declining proportion of young labour market entrants and a growing proportion of workers approaching or exceeding retirement age. This presents a number of challenges to organizations, particularly those who are reliant on an ageing workforce themselves. Blitzen Engineering is a supplier of specialized automotive components made to the detailed specification of a limited number of prestige car manufacturers. The focus on quality that is the hallmark of their customers has meant ever-greater requirements for high-quality components delivered over ever-shorter timeframes. Given the exacting specification of their products and the high degree of precision necessary in their production, the importance of skilled engineers to Blitzen cannot be overstressed. Strategically, the skill, knowledge and expertise of these engineers represent a key factor in maintaining existing business and winning new contracts. In other words, the engineers at Blitzen are the core reason why the company has managed to remain highly competitive in the face of growing overseas competition and maintained such prestigious contracts. A recent staff review at Blitzen has, however, found that the average age of engineering staff was 53. Sixteen of the 25 engineers in the firm were aged between 50 and 60 and one was over 60. No members of the engineering staff were under 30 at the time of the review. Such skewing of the workforce age profile is reflective of the wider UK engineer population (in 2005, 62 per cent of engineering technicians were aged between 45 and 64) and partly reflects an historic reluctance to invest in new technology and associated skills both by employers and government. Within Blitzen, there is considerable concern that within five to 10 years the vast majority of the engineering department is likely to have left the company. Blitzen has begun to address what it considers a potentially catastrophic situation by seeking to recruit a number of engineering graduates, by attending recruitment fairs at local universities and advertising in local newspapers. Managers, however, have been dismayed at the level of interest in engineering jobs expressed by graduates at the recruitment fairs and disappointed by both the number and quality of graduate applicants. This partly reflects a national shortfall in engineering graduates who actually enter the engineering profession to meet the projected increase in demand for such graduates in the UK economy. Many graduates who possess the skills acquired on engineering degrees - particularly, advanced problem solving and numeracy skills are highly prized by firms in business services and banking and Finance. Consequently, Blitzen is competing in a highly competitive labour market in which the 'best' graduates are often either 'snapped up' by larger engineering employers (because of their ability to pay higher wages and offer more structured graduate development programmes) or high-profile firms in other cectors. In contrast to their experiences in the graduate labour market, the HR manager had recently accepied an invitation to speak at a local further education college and had been surprised at the cathusiasm of many of the students who had attended. 1. Advise senior management at Blitzen about how you might po atout addressing the labour market problems that they are experiencing and put together one or more 'strategies for management to consider