150 million job vacancies worldwide need to be filled by older individuals.

A whopping 150 million jobs will shift to workers over the age of 55 by 2030, according to a new global study from Bain & Company.

In the Group of Seven countries, Bain predicts, older and experienced workers will make up more than quarter of the workforce by 2031.

“That’s a massive shift,” Andrew Schwedel, partner at Bain & Company, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday.

“Japan is already at the vanguard of this with almost 40% of the workforce over age 55. Europe and the U.S. are not far behind, [with] anywhere from 25 to 30%.”

But an aging workforce isn’t unique to developed markets — China’s elderly population (65 and older), for example, will double by 2050, according to the study.

“Fewer young people are entering the workforce, due partly to lower fertility rates, partly to longer education,” Bain added.

“According to OECD data, a long-term trend toward earlier retirement is slowly going into reverse.”

That can also be seen in the recent “unretirement” trend — in which retirees rejoin the labor force — driven by a hot job market, rising inflation and reduced Covid-related health risks.

The spike in retirements during the early months of the pandemic now looks more like “a Great Sabbatical,” Bain said.

In recent years, countries around the world have been increasing retirement ages — but not without pushback.

In France for example, an increase in the pension retirement age to 64 from 62 sparked protests earlier this year.

“One thing I hear consistently when I talk to companies is they don’t have the talent that they want in the quantities that they wanted,” Schwedel added.

That is why he advised businesses to not wait for policies to be implemented in countries, but to “put in place targeted interventions.”

According to a 2020 global employer survey, only about 4% of firms were committed to programs that help integrate older workers or support a multigenerational workforce.

“Companies that invest in recruiting, retaining, reskilling, and respecting the strengths of this group will set themselves up for success as the demographics of the workforce continue to shift,” Schwedel added in a press release.

The key to that is understanding what motivates older workers — Bain’s survey of 40,000 workers across 19 countries found that priorities evolve with age.

The study found that the average worker younger than 60 years old is primarily motivated by good compensation. However, those older are most focused on doing “interesting work” in a job where they have autonomy and flexibility.