In all countries in the Baltic Sea region, populations are ageing. The pension systems are in trouble in several countries already. So the number of working people in relation to the number of people retired must not be allowed to continue decreasing. It is needed to find ways to encourage and make possible for people to work more years. This is the background of the Best Agers Work Package “Labour market and employment.” The stated goal has been phrased as follows:
“It is a central goal of the project to identify instruments with which the partner cities and regions can influence the labour market participation of Best Agers, e.g. by improving the image of Best Agers as skilled professionals and encouraging businesses to provide incentives for employees not to go into early retirement.”
It is interesting to note that work participation in the age group 50+ differs significantly between partner countries. If we wish to foster older people’s possibilities to continue being active in working life, we need to understand the reasons behind these differences. It is not likely that the same solutions to the problem can be applied in the whole of the BSR, but that considerations must be given to the different cultural, economical and political realities in different countries. On the other hand, it is vital to see what can be learnt from successful approaches that have been applied: possibilities for benchmarking must be explored.
In the work package “Labour market and employment”, statistics are being developed that document the employment patterns at a regional level in the partner countries. A transnational study to reveal the obstacles met by older people to remain in or re-enter working life is under way. In a pre-investigation carried out in Sweden by University of Gothenburg, it was found that major obstacles are found in four different areas:
• rules and regulations
• health
• competence
• attitudes
It is to be expected that even though the same set of obstacles is likely to be found in the different countries, they will be different in character and importance. Remedial action will have to take these differences into account.
Contact information
Roland Kadefors, roland.kadefors@av.gu.se
Anders Östebo, anders.ostebo@av.gu.se
Department of Work Science
University of Gothenburg
PO Box 705
SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
In all countries in the Baltic Sea region, populations are ageing. The pension systems are in trouble in several countries already. So the number of working people in relation to the number of people retired must not be allowed to continue decreasing. It is needed to find ways to encourage and make possible for people to work more years. This is the background of the Best Agers Work Package “Labour market and employment.” The stated goal has been phrased as follows:
“It is a central goal of the project to identify instruments with which the partner cities and regions can influence the labour market participation of Best Agers, e.g. by improving the image of Best Agers as skilled professionals and encouraging businesses to provide incentives for employees not to go into early retirement.”
It is interesting to note that work participation in the age group 50+ differs significantly between partner countries. If we wish to foster older people’s possibilities to continue being active in working life, we need to understand the reasons behind these differences. It is not likely that the same solutions to the problem can be applied in the whole of the BSR, but that considerations must be given to the different cultural, economical and political realities in different countries. On the other hand, it is vital to see what can be learnt from successful approaches that have been applied: possibilities for benchmarking must be explored.
In the work package “Labour market and employment”, statistics are being developed that document the employment patterns at a regional level in the partner countries. A transnational study to reveal the obstacles met by older people to remain in or re-enter working life is under way. In a pre-investigation carried out in Sweden by University of Gothenburg, it was found that major obstacles are found in four different areas:
• rules and regulations
• health
• competence
• attitudes
It is to be expected that even though the same set of obstacles is likely to be found in the different countries, they will be different in character and importance. Remedial action will have to take these differences into account.
Contact information
Roland Kadefors, roland.kadefors@av.gu.se
Anders Östebo, anders.ostebo@av.gu.se
Department of Work Science
University of Gothenburg
PO Box 705
SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden