Print version Recommend this page Press release
03/ 2007
Bonn, 18.01.2007
Employment in 2050: Older workers will be important!
Germany's population will shrink and age in the coming years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, approximately 50 million people between the ages of 20 and 64 currently live in Germany. But this will change: By the year 2050, this figure could decline by up to 30 per cent, depending on the amount of future immigration. This demographic change will pose enormous challenges not only for the employment system in general but also for each individual company. Maintaining the employability of older workers-through, for example, timely and appropriate in-company continuing training-will be vitally important in this connection. However, small and medium-sized enterprises in particular have been insufficiently prepared for this to date and need assistance. This is where a European research project that has developed two handbooks for companies, training providers and older workers comes in. Germany's Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training ("BIBB") and the University of Erfurt are among the participants in this project.
Europe-wide surveys show that German companies in particular provide in-company continuing training for relatively few employees (and then it is usually for skilled or managerial workers). Timely, regular continuing vocational training can however be a decisive factor in supporting and fostering the continued employability of older workers and extending their working lives.
The case studies conducted in companies in Thuringia show that although small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have carried out few systematic, medium-term measures to date that contribute to maintaining employability in the later stages of life, they do conduct measures that are geared to the individual worker. In light of this situation the project developed a handbook for firms and older workers that revolves around the workplace as the central analysis and activity level and examines not only job requirements but also the potential that workers have to offer. Since systematic, ageing-oriented personnel development frequently exceeds the capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises, the aids and structures developed during the project were tested and used in close cooperation with external 'training consultants'.
The other handbook specifically addresses training providers whom the project identified as having an interest in training measures for older employees. The handbook offers information on this target group and aids for examining the respective services. All of the tools developed during the project were tested in firms located in Thuringia, the region covered by the study.
This project-the In-company continuing training for older workers in SMEs and the development of regional support structures (AgeQual) project-was funded by the EU's Leonardo da Vinci vocational training programme. Institutions and organizations from Belgium, Denmark, Austria and The Netherlands also participated in the AgeQual project, along with BIBB and the University of Erfurt. Most countries in Europe are experiencing a decline in their population. Germany however counts as one of the countries where the predicted effects of this demographic trend are expected to be the greatest.
Further information is available at the BIBB homepage at www.bibb.de/de/19230.htm
Information regarding this subject is also available at BIBB from:
Dick Moraal, Tel.: +49 (0) 228 - 107 2602; Fax: +49 (0) 228 - 107 2960; E-mail: moraal@bibb.de
The findings from this research project will also be presented at Hall 10, Stand A 091 on Thursday, 1 March 2007, 11:00 a.m. as part of the Training/Qualification forum at the didacta 2007 education fair being held in Cologne, Germany.
