Ageing and Qualification
Continuing vocational training for older employees in SMEs and the development of regional support structures
Caused by the demographic development in most European countries, the age structure of the working population is changing. As a result the numbers of older employees are increasing, while in the same period the numbers of young people entering the labour market and population in total are falling. An increase in working years as well as a later entry into retirement are probably. As a result, the age structures in enterprises will change considerably.
Enterprises will have to implement a prospective personnel policy in order to maintain the skills and innovation capacities of their employees. Through present personnel policies the future competencies of older employees can be guaranteed and can than be used as important resources for enterprises.
This implies - amongst others - to preserve the employability of older workers and to encourage their vocational qualifications during their professional career. Usually small and medium-sized enterprises find it difficult to deal with these problems on their own. This is a problem that is identical in most European countries.
In this project it is intended to analyse the employment- and qualification possibilities of older employees in SMEs. It is planned to develop instruments for qualification- and employment promotion and to encourage the setup of regional support structures.
The project uses a comparative approach. Six partners from five countries participate in this project.
The project is sponsored within the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci programme and through the European Commission, General Direction and Culture. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
