Older People in the Workforce

Symposium on Older People 4 September 2006 James Buwalda

Presentation Outline

• New Zealand Context

• An Ideal Labour Market

• Department of Labour - work programmes

• Opportunities and Challenges

• Cross Agency Collaboration

Growth driven by labour utilisation, not labour productivity

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Labour utilisationLabour productivityGDP

5-yearly annual average growth (%)

An Ageing Population

• Like many other western countries, population aging is one of the most significant issues facing New Zealand in the coming decades

An Ageing Population

35

37

39

41

43

45

47

2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

Median age (central projection)

median age of the population (years)

Labour force participation

• Employment rates for older people in NZ are high compared to other countries but we cannot be complacent.

Labour force participation rates

0

20

40

60

80

100

40 to 44 45 to 49 50 to 54 55 to 59 60 to 64 65+

New Zealand

OECD average

labour force participation rate (% of working-age population)

age (years)

Labour force participation rates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Labour force participation rate forthose aged 55 years and over

% of working-age population

NZ

Sweden

US

Australia

Ideal labour market

• High participation of all population sub-groups• Efficient transitions in and out of the labour

market• Skill levels are high• Life experience (including caring experience)

is valued and recognised• Workers continually upskill and retrain where

necessary• Opportunities for training, promotion and

employment benefits are available to all

Ideal labour market

• Workers remain attached to the labour market during time out for study, caring and other activities

• Career information advice and guidance is available to all at any point during a working life

Where can DOL best add value?

• Increasing participation• Improving quality of work• Improving efficiency of labour markets• Career Information Advice and

Guidance from a policy perspective

What kind of work

• Promotion of good/best practice• Research• Measurement and evaluation• Sharing information

Cross-Agency Programmes

• Choices for Living, Caring and Working• Workplace Productivity• Work/Life Balance • Sector and Regional Engagements• Quality flexible work

45+ labour market participation

• Research into people aged 45+ who are not participating in the labour market

• Why? • What would assist them?• How do we engage with them?• What role is there for career information advice and

guidance?

Issues to Consider

• Agreement on age parameters for groups and sub-groups

• Agreement on terminology• Mature or older• People or workers

• Working effectively and efficiently with other organisations

Next steps

• Co-ordinate work with other agencies• Work within existing priorities• Co-ordinate action plans• Keep talking to each other