Print version Recommend this page Press release
22/ 2011
Bonn, 11.05.2011
'Youngsters' may run faster but older people know shortcuts - BIBB presents new concepts for the employment of older persons
In future, the largest share of wage and salary earners will be over the age of 50. Ensuring the employability of older workers on an individual basis and organising tomorrow's extended working life in ways that are also in the interest of older workers will call for significant re-thinking on the part of everyone involved. The new publication "Ältere Beschäftigte: Zu jung, um alt zu sein" (Older Workers: Too Young to Be Old) from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) presents current research findings, concrete concepts and instruments from a research and business point of view regarding the subject of older workers.
In their articles, the authors call in particular for company master plans for ensuring the trans-fer of knowledge from older workers to younger workers, urge a departure from age-selective personnel development and present motivating work-time models which incorporate a flexible transition from the working phase to the post-retirement phase.
The vocational training experts contributing the articles in this publication point out ways to preserve and foster not only workers' employability, qualifications and motivation but also companies' competitiveness and capacity for innovation. Studies show, for example, that some personnel managers still think of older workers in terms of the deficit model - a generalisation that does not reflect the heterogeneity of workers who are over 50 years of age.
On the other hand, there are companies which take up the challenge arising from the current demographic trend and develop solutions for keeping their older employees healthy, motivated, qualified and productive.
The authors explain measures and instruments for flexible working hours and age-appropriate ways of organising working life in combination with personnel development measures and career structuring which are geared to life cycles. The cross-generational transfer of knowledge is part of this, along with continuing training which is geared not only to working life but also takes the post-retirement years into account 0 to the benefit of not only the employees but also the respective companies.
Findings from surveys of employees and companies show how and why it makes sense to include workers in developing the response to demographic change in their companies.
Background: A century ago, people in Germany lived an average of approximately 45 years. By contrast, the average life expectancy of new-born girls today is more than 82 years and in the case of new-born boys, something more than 77 years. Parallel to this, the birth rate in Germany is falling. Starting in 2020, the number of persons who are economically active will decline markedly while the share of older persons in this group grows. Today, some 31 per cent of all persons who are or can be gainfully employed are between the ages of 50 and 64. This figure will reach 42 per cent by the 2020 and then continue to rise to some 46 per cent by the year 2035 (Source: Federal Statistical Office, www.destatis.de).
The book "Ältere Beschäftigte: Zu jung, um alt zu sein" is part of the BIBB series "Berichte zur beruflichen Bildung" (printed version: ISBN 978-3-7639-1144-8, E-book: 978-3-7639-4824-4). It can be ordered for € 27.90 on the BIBB website (www.bibb.de/veroeffentlichungen) or from W. Bertelsmann Verlag publishing house (www.wbv.de).
Point of contact at BIBB:
Brigitte Seyfried, E-mail: seyfried@bibb.de
Reprint free of charge. Voucher copy requested.
