Modern Technology Is Essential to Attracting the Next Generation Public Infrastructure Workforce

Government has a recruiting problem — and it isn’t what most leaders think. Right now, 11,000 Americans are turning 65 every single day, a pace that will continue through 2027.[1] The state and local government workforce skews older than the national average, and 46% of agencies say the largest wave of retirements is still ahead of them.[2] But the deeper issue isn’t just that people are leaving. It’s that the next generation isn’t interested in showing up.

And the reason is surprisingly specific: the technology is embarrassing.

The U.S. needs 25,000 new civil engineers every year for the next decade just to keep pace with retirements and infrastructure demand.[3] Nearly 30% of the current civil engineering workforce is already over 55.[4] Meanwhile, the federal government alone spends over $100 billion on IT annually — and roughly 80% of that goes to maintaining legacy systems, not building modern ones.[5]

A 25-year-old engineer graduating today has spent their entire adult life inside tools built by Google, Apple, and Amazon. They navigate apps that learn from their behavior, predict what they need, and get out of their way. Then they walk into a government job and are handed a desktop-only system with a multi-week training program just to log a work order. It’s no surprise that 91% of employees report frustration with workplace technology.[6]

That’s not a training problem. That’s a recruiting problem.

Technology Is Now a Talent Signal

For the next generation of public servants, the tools an agency uses say everything about how that agency operates. Here’s the data that makes this undeniable: employees are 230% more engaged and 85% more likely to stay beyond three years when they have the technology they need to do their work.[9] Outdated software doesn’t just slow down workflows — it actively drives people out.

This isn’t hypothetical. Agencies that have adopted modern platforms report onboarding thousands of users in weeks — not the months or years that legacy systems demand. Meanwhile, 60% of state and local governments now report being “very or somewhat successful” in recruiting a new generation of employees, and the share of “hard to fill” positions has dropped by at least 10 percentage points since 2022.[2] The agencies making progress are the ones investing in modern tools.

AI-First Doesn’t Mean AI-Only

There’s an important distinction agencies need to understand. Investing in AI-first technology doesn’t mean replacing human judgment with algorithms. It means building your operational foundation on platforms where AI is embedded thoughtfully — surfacing the right data at the right time, automating low-value tasks, and helping teams make better decisions without adding complexity. This generation expects it: 75% of Gen Z already use AI to upskill, and 74% believe GenAI will impact how they work within the next year.[10]

From Field to Finance — and From Hire to Career

When field data flows cleanly into financial planning, agencies don’t just operate better — they become better places to work. New hires can see the impact of their work immediately. An inspection completed on a tablet at 9 AM shapes a capital budget recommendation by noon. That kind of visibility and purpose is exactly what the next generation is looking for — 86% of Gen Z say having a sense of purpose is “somewhat or very important” for overall job satisfaction.[10]

The agencies winning the talent war aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that have invested in platforms their people actually want to use — consumer-grade design, real-time insights, no-code configuration, and AI that earns its place by making every role more effective.

The Choice in Front of Agency Leaders

Every year an agency delays modernization, the recruiting gap widens. The numbers are structural: 25,000 civil engineers needed annually, 30% of the workforce already past 55, 20% of all engineers eligible to retire within the decade.[11] Gen Z’s average tenure in their first five years is just 1.1 years[12] — they’ll move on fast if the tools don’t match their expectations. And with 61% of agencies reporting no succession plan in place, the institutional knowledge walking out the door isn’t being captured, either.[2]

A government agency running modern, AI-first infrastructure isn’t just more efficient. It’s more attractive. The question isn’t whether agencies can afford to invest in modern technology. It’s whether they can afford not to — and still expect the next generation to show up.