Dive Brief:

• Many media outlets say that millennials are primed to to take over the working world, especially within the on-demand economy. But an article at Forbes disputes that idea, noting that its experience, not age, that drives the on-demand space.
• The article, written by Work Market co-founder Jeff Wald, said its indisputable that millennials play a critical talent role in the on-demand workforce, with 38% freelancing as of 2015, according to a Freelancer’s Union study.
• But he disagrees that millennials drive today's freelance resurgence because of their attributes of "freedom, flexibility, and technology." Rather, he writes that most companies are currently hiring contract workers based on experience and skill-needs.

Dive Insight:

With the disappearance of the traditional long-term work "contract" between workers and employers, the bulk of new employees will not be trained, nurtured and developed over their careers any longer.

Employers instead are hiring skills on an as-needed basis, he writes, and that means using qualified, experienced professionals to fill skill requirements. He cites a Fortune magazine article that looked at a report measuring U.S. millennials in various categories (education, literacy and even comfort with smart technologies, a supposed millennial strength), comparing millennials with adults and young people globally. Millennials did not fare well.

Wald says employers today seek skills, not specific demographic groups. They need experienced, mid-career professionals to meet talent needs. He mentions Work Market's 2016 Corporate On-Demand Talent Report, which found that the most sought-after demographic for on-demand talent are mid-career professionals (ages 35-55).