agora promoting lifelong learning for older workers cedefop thessaloniki, pylea 12-13 october 2006...

AGORAAGORAPROMOTING LIFELONG LEARNING PROMOTING LIFELONG LEARNING

FOR OLDER WORKERSFOR OLDER WORKERS

CEDEFOP CEDEFOP Thessaloniki, Pylea 12-13 October 2006Thessaloniki, Pylea 12-13 October 2006

Confindustria Veneto Siav SpaConfindustria Veneto Siav Spa

INDUSTRIAL CONFIGURATION OF INDUSTRIAL CONFIGURATION OF VENETO REGIONVENETO REGION

Population: 4.73 mill. inhabitants - not positive demographic trend (2005);

total immigrants 6.1% - non-EU immigrants 5.8% (2004)

Active Enterprises: 456,878 (2005)

Unemployment rate: 4.2% - 6.2% Female – 2.9% Male (2005)

Comparison of the age group structure, between the population in the province of Venice and the population of Veneto – Year 2005

Comparison of the age group structure, between the population in the province of Venice and the population of Veneto – Year 2025

REGIONAL AGE PYRAMIDREGIONAL AGE PYRAMID

The maximum extension will move from the age group 34-44 in 2005 to 50-54 age group in 2025

Table 1 - Employed persons and population sorted by age

1993 2003

Employed persons45-49 193.189 231.73350-54 159.604 196.25455-59 95.860 103.67660-64 40.623 48.69665 and over 25.799 32.683Total 1.802.621 2.003.678

Population 45-49 293.089 302.88450-54 290.751 312.54655-59 258.230 274.01560-64 244.000 274.10565 and over 661.848 797.314Total 3.733.948 3.901.027

Source: Veneto lavoro based on Istat (Italian Bureau of Statistics) data

The total employment rate among workers aged 55 to 64 is 27.8%, i.e. falling within the national average, though unfortunately still far from the target set at Lisbon European Council (50%)

THE STATISTICAL DEMOGRAPHIC PICTURETHE STATISTICAL DEMOGRAPHIC PICTURE

MASCHI

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MASCHI

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19711981199119932002

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14 19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 66

19711981199119932002

Table 2 - Employment rate by gender


The favourable trend and increase of female employment is due to the fact that, up to the 1970s, female work was considered in Veneto purely as “temporary, instrumental investment in life and work experience” (Pristinger, 1983), so that women would typically reach lower levels of education, they would enter the labour market rather early, then would leave it upon getting married or at the birth of their first child. Today, instead, access to the labour market is a process that starts later, and permanence on the labour market increases for less young female workers.

Table 3 - Percentage composition of employed persons by occupation, sector of activity and age


Table 4 - Private sector: employed persons hired in 2000 in Veneto, sorted by qualification, gender and age group. Percentages

15-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-64 >64 Total

Males and FemalesManagers 0,0 0,2 0,5 0,6 0,4 0,1 0,2Intellectual, scientific and highly specialized professions 0,9 2,5 2,4 2,0 2,9 4,8 1,6Technical professions 12,3 12,6 7,9 5,1 3,7 3,0 11,3Clerks 12,1 8,2 5,3 3,2 1,6 1,5 9,5Qualified salespersons and service workers 20,2 14,7 15,6 18,2 18,8 15,0 18,0Artisans/small businesses, skilled factory workers, labourers 17,3 14,2 16,5 18,6 17,5 18,2 16,4Plant and machine operators, semiskilled factory workers 10,1 10,3 10,6 8,6 8,2 3,8 10,1Unskilled professions 27,1 37,5 41,7 44,4 47,3 53,7 33,0Number of hired people (current figure) 266.708 137.547 64.043 28.399 4.237 1.642 502.598FemalesManagers 0,0 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,0 0,0Intellectual, scientific and highly specialized professions 1,0 1,8 1,0 0,5 3,1 1,4 1,2Technical professions 17,6 16,2 8,5 3,7 4,5 5,0 15,0Clerks 16,8 10,4 5,8 2,8 1,5 1,9 12,6Qualified salespersons and service workers 29,3 21,4 22,9 24,8 26,2 20,6 26,0Artisans/small businesses, skilled factory workers, labourers 9,1 9,7 12,1 13,6 7,1 13,4 10,0Plant and machine operators, semiskilled factory workers 5,7 5,4 5,1 3,3 2,1 0,3 5,4Unskilled professions 20,5 35,1 44,5 51,4 55,5 57,4 29,9Number of hired people (current figure) 117.561 61.138 31.106 13.725 1.178 362 225.081

Source: Veneto Lavoro based on data from Sirlv- Netlabor archives


If compared to other European countries, the low employment rate of the aged population in Veneto can be ascribed on the one hand to a remarkably lower degree of education but, on the other hand, also to the fact that part-time is still fairly low, a common problem all over Italy, particularly for women: despite being above the national average, female part-time in Veneto (23.3%) is extremely low compared with the European average (33.4%); moreover, it is mostly voluntary (over 85%).

INTERVENTION PROJECTSINTERVENTION PROJECTS

Aims

Activities

Partnership

Period

LEONARDOLEONARDOTACITUSTACITUS

Enhancement of non-formal learning in older worker

Research-intervention at regional level

Research and enterprises sensibilization

Evaluation and competences transfer model (old and young workers)

ResearchInterventionInformation desksMainstreaming

Research benchmarking among five E.U. regions

Networking composed by 15 organizations: Universities, social partners, training agencies. (ISL, I, F, D, P, RO, B)

4 Equal DP composed by social partners, municipalities, innovation agencies, chambers of commerce.

5 partners: employer and sectoral organizations (F, D, UK, I, HU)

Oct. 2003 – Sept. 2005 Jul. 2004 – Nov. 2005 Dec. 2004 – Nov. 2006

www.leonardotacitus.net www.agemanagement.it http://www.siav.net/sam.htm

PRACTICES CLASSIFICATIONPRACTICES CLASSIFICATIONPRACTICES CLASSIFICATIONPRACTICES CLASSIFICATION

The practices implemented by the 20 companies interviewed in the Age Management project fall within the following attitude models:

“wait and postpone” the company tackles the Age problem only when it appears, and seeks to postpone it as long as possible, by keeping the worker within the organization if he or she possesses distinctive competences; BAD PRACTICE

“artisan workshop” (using a metaphor) the company appreciates that the older worker is the owner of skills enriched by experience, and studies strategies on how to pass these valuable competences over to young workers; GOOD PRACTICE

“anticipate and develop” the company implements a strategy based on continuous improvement, by anticipating periods of crisis, including age-related ones, and by involving all workers, irrespectively of their age. In this specific case, Age becomes a stimulating factor of excellence.GOOD PRACTICE

These practices are closely related with the orientations adopted by enterprises, and they can be pictured best in the following models:

“Family-based” concentrated entrepreneurship leads to the customization of the Age process, the company relinquishes the idea of spreading intergenerational experiences, the owner himself/herself is often the person who takes possession again of these competences, unless he or she decides to redistribute them;

“Business Oriented” the company seeks the maximum, immediate return, and this factor inevitably inspires the company's policy;

“Vision Oriented” the company sets specific goals in the medium and long run, particularly focusing on possible damage or beneficial opportunities missed because of the lack of Age management strategies. Vice versa, the company operates in favour of its territory, its workers, its economic sustainability in a complex framework of reference, which is not restricted to internal priorities, but is aware of context-related, mutual relations.

Promoting lifelong learning for older workersPromoting lifelong learning for older workers

Policy implementationPolicy implementation



The ageing process of the older worker involves:

• Technical skill obsolescence

• Accumulation of experience related to his/her professional duties

• Role crisis and identity crisis in several contexts (work, family, etc.)

• New conditions and opportunities for making new choices

The risks for the older worker are:

• lower production

• social identity crisis

• social exclusion





The ageing process does not only affect the

work organization and the production

processes,

but also the whole social organization in all

its components (family, associations,

services, etc.)





Lifelong learning is a strategy aimed at tackling the ageing issue within work organizations (i.e. within companies).

Lifelong learning is based on the assumption that learning does not only concern a specific age, but one’s whole life, i.e. also old age.

Intergenerational exchange is a peculiar aspect:

• Young people can acquire knowledge through experience • Older people can acquire knowledge through younger people’s

skilled competence





We tried to summarize and schematize our considerations about the exchange of tacit knowledge between experts and novices in a model that we will call “infinity” because of the shape it has, i.e. ∞.





The model highlights that what can be exchanged are the

individual’s resources, i.e. knowledge and knowing how to do.

The transfer process (not formal) consists in a double

crossing of the central ellipsis: on the one side, the crossing

refers to sharing of the stock of resources on the part of the

person who is “transferring”; on the other side, the crossing

refers to the absorbing of resources on the part of the person

who is “receiving”, i.e. the shared resources “provided” by the

person who is teaching increase the stock of resources of the

person who is learning/acquiring.





There are three different approaches to develop lifelong learning, and they influence the contents and the sense of learning itself.

These three approaches are:

• adaptation

• reciprocity

• social responsibility





Towards adaptation

Adaptation means transferring new knowledge and new technical

skills to older workers, in order for them to maintain their production

efficiency and their integration in the working process, although it has

changed (for several reasons)

(experience is not expected to be of value)

(the already acquired social role is prolonged, possible crises are

postponed)

(adaptation affects only one dimension)





Towards reciprocity

The experience accumulated by the older worker means value for the company.

The contents of this experience need to be acknowledged and to become an

input for the work organization and the production process.

The assumption (and the goal of training under this approach) is that the

business organization gains benefits from the older worker who is trained for

new roles (for example monitoring and mentoring activities, internal

communication, conveying the company culture, etc).

Enhancement strategies may require (internal or external) mobility actions.

Training does not only concern the older worker, it considers the whole

company context from the point of view of development and improvement (thus

acting on more than one dimensional level)









Proposal made to the companies through Action Learning Act within intergenerational groups:

• Focus on one or more age-related issues of interest for the company

• Develop a work project under the supervision of an expert

FORMAZIONEINTERAZIENDALE

ANALISI / DIAGNOSI

ASSUNZIONE DELLACOMMITTENZA

COOPERATION

INTER-GENERATIONAL

FORMAZIONEINTERAZIENDALE

INTER-ENTERPRISE SEMINARS

ANALISI / DIAGNOSIANALYSIS/DIAGNOSIS

COMMITMENT

BENCHMARKING

OF RESULTS





• Transfer of competences within organizations

• Human Resources Management and Corporate Social Responsibility

Issues identified:• Codify and transfer

knowledge• Transfer responsibility• Share values

Age management strategies to implement:

LIFELONG LEARNING: targeted towards increasing the Human Resource potential;

INTERNAL MOBILITY: associated with career and enhancement;

IDENTIFICATION OF NEW TASKS: partnering, mentoring, empowering, coaching;

NEW FORMS OF CONTRACT: part-time.





Towards social responsibility

Ageing affects all spheres of one’s own life.

Ageing has to be dealt with by considering the whole context of an older

worker’s life, by considering not only the business organization, but also the

local network that the company belongs to, as well.

The assumption (and the goal of training under this approach) is that there are

several opportunities to enhance experience accumulated and start new

growth opportunities even by taking up new roles and changing identities (e.g.

access new markets with different approaches such as gratuitousness,

relations, knowledge, amusement, etc.).

Within the reference network, the company plays its role in achieving

continuous growth and development goals (not only from an economic point of

view, but also in terms of well-being) (thus acting on all dimensional levels)





Policy recommendationsPolicy recommendations

Do not oversimplify the problem by dealing with

it separately from the context where it appears.

Develop policies which can intervene on all

dimensions by focusing on the system





Consider the older worker as human capital, not only for the practical support he/she gives to the production process.

Enhance the worker’s intangible components in intergenerational exchange, especially those which contribute to building and maintaining trust, as well as those concerning the exchange and transfer of cultural models and values.





agora promoting lifelong learning for older workers cedefop thessaloniki, pylea 12-13 october 2006...

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