Ensuring Continuity And Quality In An Aging Field Service Workforce

By Eric Lomascolo, Source Support Services

Since 2001 Source has developed and managed its own global variable workforce, Source Techworks. Today, its 12,000+ members span more than 110 countries.

Many recent field engineer surveys have produced a common finding: the workforce is trending older and more experienced. According to a survey we published in 2020, 89 percent of the FEs in our Source Techworks network have been freelance FEs for at least six years and 48 percent of them have more than 15 years of experience as an FE. A 2019 survey from The Service Council found that 46% of all field service employees in North America are age 50 or older, and that percentage is even higher (a full 50%) in EMEA.