Knowledge is widely regarded as the key determinant of competitiveness in the current economy and, therefore, it's effective management is of utmost importance to organizations. However, the challenge lies in the fact that knowledge is not easily transferrable. It is a part of the many thousands of individuals who work for an organization. Employee losses, in response to layoffs, attrition or retirement, result in knowledge loss.

State of the Unemployed

The U.S. Department of Labor, in their monthly survey on unemployment, found that there were 240,000 job losses in the country in the month of October, 2008 alone. This sent the unemployment rate up to 6.5% from 6.1% in the month of September. Moreover, the U.S. Federal statistics predicts that by 2010 the retirement rate of IT workers will rise to 16.9%, from 13% in 2000-2004.