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Supporting Older People’s Contributions Employment and training Positive Ageing in London 17 October 2013

Supporting Older People’s Contributions Employment and training Positive Ageing in London 17 October 2013. Demographic change. Our ageing population means more people aged 50+ And people are likely to work even longer = many more older workers in the labour market!.

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Supporting Older People’s Contributions Employment and training Positive Ageing in London 17 October 2013

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  1. Supporting Older People’s Contributions Employment and training Positive Ageing in London 17 October 2013

  2. Demographic change • Our ageing population means more people aged 50+ • And people are likely to work even longer = many more older workers in the labour market!

  3. Additional 50+workers in the labour market, 2015-25 Source: Age UK analysis of the Labour Force Survey, Q2 2010

  4. Average retirement ages Source: Office for National Statistics, analysis based on the Labour Force Survey

  5. Why do people want to work longer? • Money – declining value of pensions, rising costs, lack of retirement provision • Policy changes – rising State Pension age • Changing attitudes – normative, and the concept of retirement becoming less clearly defined • Social benefits/make a contribution

  6. Barriers to remaining in work • Not always easy to keep working. • People face challenges, for example: • Caring responsibilities • Lack of flexible working options • Managing a long-term health condition • Age discrimination • Other kinds of discrimination

  7. Caring responsibilities • Caring responsibilities can affect work • 300,000 people a year stop working to care (mainly women) • Costs the economy £5.3 billion a year • Carers urgently need more help and support, and understanding employers

  8. Flexible working • ‘Flexible working’ means an mutual agreement to diverge from the expected/ideal working pattern • Can include: flexi-time, home-working, term-time, compressed hours, on-call working etc. • Important for many older workers, for example those with caring responsibilities, managing a health condition or winding down to retirement

  9. Age UK research and report Age UK policy report, based on academic research among 50+ workers and labour market analysis. Available at http://www.ageuk.org.uk/professional-resources-home/policy/work-and-learning/

  10. Key findings • Home working is particularly important • People want to work flexibly for caring, health, or other personal reasons • 38% of 50+ workers worked flexibly in 2010, rising from 30% in 2005 • Particular barriers in accessing flexible working for carers and the unemployed. Many employers generally resistant though. • Crucial issues for employers: • Line managers’ attitudes to flexible work • Job design • Organisational culture

  11. Health and work • Important that older workers and employers can deal with any arising health problems • Government has invested in this – new Health and Work service due to start 2014 • But more in-work support is needed to make sure people are able to work longer.

  12. Age discrimination • 40% of 50+ workers feel they’ve been discriminated against because of their age • Often subconscious, but negative stereotypes of older workers still prevail • This prevents people from getting on in work… • …but most prevalent in recruitment

  13. Employment support • 50+ jobseekers face a range of barriers • Jobcentre Plus often not geared up to help • Work Programme failing 50+ long term unemployed • Ageism in recruitment stops many getting jobs • Sometimes hard to prove skills to employers and counter the stereotypes • We’ve called on people aged 50+ to be a priority client group for the National Careers Service • But

  14. London Regional Policy • London Enterprise Panel co-chaired by Deputy Mayor for Business & Enterprise • Jobs and Growth Plan for London • Skills and employment: to ensure Londoners have the skills to compete for and sustain London’s jobs

  15. Over 50s Self Advocacy Employment Project • 2008-11 in Bromley, Camden, Islington and Redbridge • Key strength – specialist support focussing on older people • Project enabled Personal Advisers to be flexible and tailor their support to individual needs “The project can be very much as it is needed to be, it can be very client led. I have clients who cannot read or write very well and I have clients with PhD and Masters degrees.”

  16. Conclusion It’s not all bad news – a growing awareness of the issues and some evidence of changing attitudes to older workers… but a very long way to go • Ageing workforce is a challenge for employers and policy makers, but also an opportunity

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