Learning and Guidance for Older Workers in Europe

Policy Studies Institute, published by the …, 2009

2004

This study considers active ageing policies in labour market in ten European countries. The study aims to identify changes to European labour markets in the past 15 years and assess what these changes mean for active ageing policy agendas (i.e. identify barriers and opportunities). In Active Ageing programmes the concepts and aims can be European but the national institutions of each welfare state should appropriate its own programme of social learning. The reason is the clear differences shown to prevail both in the labour markets and in the pace of ageing in individual European countries. However, ageing is more rapid in public sector in all countries. For example in Finland, in government sector in 10 years 75% of leaders and 50% of employees retire. It is argued that one of the main barriers to the employment of older people is inaccurate perceptions about the capabilities of older workers such as long professional experience and the atmosphere of reliability and loyalty to employers. However, one cannot isolate issues pertaining to older workers. Age management is bound to general wellbeing at work places. Successful active ageing policy could also be part of innovative human resource management. An increasing number of firms are adopting new human resource management that has large impact on employeremployee work relations. Many of the positive characteristics of older workers relate to a longer work relationship and particularly the recruitment of new older workers is difficult and should be subsidised. Finally, new senior citizenship should be introduced that also covers retired. This is particularly important when active ageing policies are prone to be conducted by labour market participants (unions and employer federations) that are likely to ignore issues relevant for the retired.

2010

ABSTRACT Career development, and lifetime development in general, is often represented as an arch: a line going up then down, representing stereotypes of the younger promising stage and the older deteriorating stage. Ideas about the peak of this curve differ from 35 to 55 years old. Paintings, prints and models represent the second half of a life or a career as the decline and fall of human capabilities. The message is clear and simple: these people are over the hill.

Concern regarding older workers is not new to the ILO. In the late 1970s, the potential problems faced by aging societies around the world were discussed and debated in detail. The result of these activities was the creation of an international labour standard, the Older Workers Recommendation, 1980 (No. 162). This international standard was intended to frame the issues of concern regarding the employment and work circumstances of older workers and to stimulate action to improve them. Integral to this were provisions addressing the conditions of work and employment of older workers and the issues that needed to be considered when improving their circumstances. Consequently, the Recommendation includes conditions of work and employment provisions on age discrimination, working time and work organization, wages and older workers’ need to address family responsibilities. Using the ILO Recommendation as a framework, this paper explores these conditions of work and employment issues in greater depth. It commences by outlining reasons as to why there is at present a concern about the growth of the elderly segment of the population. It then highlights some of the problems older workers have faced in the past when remaining in or re-entering the paid labour market. While the authors suggest that the choice of continuing work should remain with older workers themselves, the paper outlines the situation that exists in the labour market of the countries with the most pressing concerns about extending the working lives of older workers. The paper addresses what is considered the largest obstacle for entry or re-entry of older workers in the labour market ― age discrimination ― and illustrates how it can be addressed. The attention of the work then turns to examining conditions of work in the form of working time and work organization, in order to determine which factors need to be considered for older workers to effectively and constructively contribute to the labour market. Wage issues, particularly seniority wage issues, are also considered. The paper then explores the under-examined, but nevertheless very real, problems faced by older workers who must reconcile work with family life. The paper concludes with a consideration of the factors that need to be taken into account in the future when developing conditions of work and employment policies for older workers and suggestions for how other countries, which may not currently experience this problem to the same extent, should consider addressing these issues in their own context.

The subject of the following paper was to explore the situation of older people on the labour market in Poland. Economic activity rate in this country is the lowest for all the EU countries, which is especially evident for people aged 50 and more. The main aims were: to explore the possible causes of the existing situation and to discuss how it could be changed in future. We use secondary data giving some insight into older people's labour force participation and labour market behaviour (Polish Labour Force Survey, public opinion surveys and World Values Survey) as well as results from our own qualitative study (expert in-depth-interviews with representatives of labour market institutions and employers). Our analysis has shown that the situation of the described group in recent years has been influenced by political decisions of different kinds, in that mainly decisions on labour market policy and the social security system. On the other hand, we found that also certain socio-cu...

2008

A summary of the main findings from the research into the Labour Market and Training Experiences of Older Workers is provided below. For a fuller outline of the findings, along with recommendations, see Section 13. Introduction and Secondary Data  The aim of the project was to collect a robust evidence base from which the LSC can inform policies that impact older workers and learners. For the purpose of this research, ' older'has been defined as 50-70 years of age, although some variation has been necessary when analysising secondary data. The term ' older workforce' is used to embrace all individuals in the broad age band, regardless of their current employment status.  The methodology consisted of desk research to review literature and policy relating to the older workforce; secondary data analysis of the demographics of the over-50 population in the West Midlands; primary research with the older workforce, consisting of 10 focus groups with older workers across the region; and a region-wide semi-structured telephone survey with 50 employers across the region.  The latest midyear population estimates (2006) show that there are over 5 million people resident in the West Midlands (5,366,600) of which the ' older workforce' age band of 50-64 years is close to 1 million (971,700).  The proportion of residents in the West Midlands aged between 50 and State Pension Age (SPA) who are economically active is slightly lower (74.8%) than for all of working age (77.1%).  Data from Census 2001 show that 14.8% of people of working age (16 to 64 years) in the West Midlands were recorded as having a limiting long-term illness. Within the 50-64 ' older worker' age band, the limiting long-term illness rate is substantially higher, at 27.2%.  Residents in the older working age bands in the West Midlands are more likely to have no qualifications, compared to residents in the younger age bands. 40.3% of residents aged 50-54 have no qualifications, as do 49.9% aged 55-59 and 59.2% aged 60-64. Only 26% aged 40-44 and 33.8% aged 45-49 have no qualifications.  The LSC' s Individualised Learner Records data show that there are 104,894 learners aged 40 plus in the West Midlands. Of this number, 28.6% are aged 40-44 years; aged 45-49 (22.9%); aged 50-54 (16.7%); aged 55-59 (12.7%); aged 60-64 (8.4%); and 10.7% are aged 65 and above.  For all types of learning across the West Midlands 39.9% of learners are men, and 60.1% are women. Incentives and Barriers to Employment  Older workers mentioned a variety of incentives and motivations to employment and an even wider variety of barriers to employment or career development: displaying the heterogeneity of this group.  Generally the attitudes to employment from those who were in work were more positive than the attitudes of those of not in work. However, this positivity was tempered by comments about the modern world of work, in which stress and paperwork seem to abound. Labour Market and Training Experiences of Older Workers in the West Midlands 6 CMO 08R004 December 2008  Several employed participants perceived larger employers to offer more advantages to older workers, including more structure in progression routes; better policies, such as flexible working and job share; and being more Age Positive.  The main motivation for employment expressed by participants was the need for an income or financial security. Other motivations for work included avoiding boredom; socialising; a sense of purpose; progression; suitable hours; and stress reduction.  Older workers had a wide variety of aspirations, such as changing to a new career; returning to a previous expertise; retraining; moving roles within a large organisation; continuing on a progression route with a large organisation; and winding down to retirement.  Participants currently in employment expressed more career aspirations than those not in employment; and younger participants expressed more ambition to progress than older participants. Women seemed more open to retraining as a means of developing their career, than men were.  Older people mentioned a wide variety of potential barriers to employment, including their own attitudes 1 ; some transport issues; employer attitudes (especially in ' younger profile' sectors such as IT); health; caring responsibilities (especially for women); and discrimination, on grounds of gender, ethnicity, age and even area of residence. While most employers interviewed stated that they were not discriminatory in any way, older worker participants were less sure. Labour Market and Training Experiences of Older Workers in the West Midlands 10 CMO 08R004 December 2008 Labour Market and Training Experiences of Older Workers in the West Midlands 12 CMO 08R004 December 2008 3 METHODS This section outlines the multi-modal methodology used for this research into the labour market and training experiences of older workers in the West Midlands. 3.1 Desk Research Desk research was undertaken to review the existing policy context relevant to the training and employment of older workers. Researchers used the internet and other sources, including libraries, to locate policy documentation and other literature. 3.2 Secondary Data Review VT Research reviewed quantitative secondary data in order to provide a picture of the demographics of the over-50 population in the West Midlands, their qualifications, training and learning and employment. This element of the project included analysis of:  Individualised Learner Records (ILR): ILR data was provided by the LSC. The driver for analysis of this data was to investigate the characteristics, participation and learning aims of people aged 40+ in the region at present.  Annual Population Survey (APS): To provide overall demographics of over-50 population in the region, including employment, health and economic activity/inactivity.  Annual Business Inquiry (ABI): To provide the sizeband of employers, and expanding and declining sectors in the region.  National Learner Satisfaction Survey (NLSS): For qualifications and subjects by age.  National Employer Skills Survey (NESS): For training expenditure and skills gaps. 3.3 Older Workforce Focus Groups To obtain older workers' views about their labour market and training experiences, 10 focus groups were held with people aged over 45 across the region during July 2008. At least one focus group was held in each of the six LSC sub-regions:

Despite differences between EU member countries, most experience demographic change characterised by a decrease in mortality and fertility rates leading to a growing proportion of older people with effects on the working population. This poses a range of economic challenges in terms of financing health care and retirement as well as maintaining the employment skills base. This paper is based on a research project with the aim of identifying what policies employers and employment related organisations need to adopt in order to extend the labour market participation of older workers. Between 2005 and 2007 the ESF Article 6 funded CAWA (Creative Approaches to Workforce Ageing). This project was carried out by four European partner institutions based in: Spain, Austria, Sweden and the UK with further input from Bulgaria. The project partners had strong links to trade unions, employers organisations and regional authorities, facilitating multilayred debates related to raising awareness of demographic change among policy makers and developing best practice guidelines. The findings presented relate to key employment areas and are explored from employers’ and workers’ perspectives. The organisational identities/commitment literature provides a conceptual framework to gain understanding of the push and pull factors associated with workforce ageing. The paper concludes by arguing that the debate on workforce ageing among trade unions, employers and policy makers needs to be focussed on deeper understanding of the work and non-work related identities of older workers and aim to facilitate flexible working arrangements.

SHS web of conferences, 2020

The object of this research is the vocational training of older workers. The purpose is to analyze the impact of vocational training on older workers' employment. The research methods are theoretical, general scientific and empirical methods; diagnostic, statistical methods, etc. Theoretical and practical results are the following: the vocational training of older workers is an important factor in their employment. The low coverage of older workers participating in vocational training can be overcome by popularizing vocational training as a tool for career development, prolonging their participation in the labor market and adapting them to the labor market. 1 A problem statement Older workers' position in the labor market is cause for concern in many countries. Economic crisis has forced many older workers changed their position in the labor market. Encouraging older workers to work longer and fostering their employability have become priorities for policymakers in different countries. Rapid population aging is challenging pension systems. In 2018 President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed the Federal law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on the Appointment and Payment of Pensions". This law provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age to 65 and 60 years (men and women, respectively). According to the United Nations report, the proportion of people over 60 will grow from 12.

With the ageing of society, policy-makers are aware of the need to retain older workers in employment. Across Europe, lifelong learning is increasingly important. Adults who remain active longer need (re-)training to maintain their productivity. However, vocational training tends to decline with age. The article analyses European employment policy developments, the 'active ageing' concept and life course changes, and examines the question of whether the productive potential of older people is substantially impaired by age per se. The role of the social partners regarding the possible benefits of vocational training for a highskilled workforce is analysed. The article challenges traditional mindsets about older workers and advocates an age-neutral approach of vocational training: learning must become a habit that is not moderated by age.