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Working and ageing
214 Guidance and counselling for mature learners

(b) a process of reassuring employees upon entry into training period: the
first step was to identify and acknowledge competences already acquired
by trainees in their former jobs. This was to give them more self-
confidence in their capacity to learn;
(c) external IT training: employees took pride in doing this training, which very
often helped them to keep pace with their children, as far as new
technologies are concerned;
(d) internal training based on work situations: trainees were guided during
one month by a more experienced employee of the call centre, to give
them confidence in their capacity to adapt to their new job situation;
(e) regular individual monitoring: the human resources manager met trainees
regularly to follow their progress.

Success factors related to environment are:
(a) clear pathways between the business lines and transparent skill
requirements: this was made possible by manpower planning;
(b) secure mobility system, option to return: if employees changed their minds
or did not complete the training programme, they had the possibility to go
back to their former jobs;
(c) steady managerial support: managers met newcomers in the call centre
regularly to be sure their integration was successful;
(d) acknowledgement of new skills: the company planned to organise a little
event and deliver a certificate to the employees concerned, on completion
of the programme.
Many of these success factors had already been identified earlier in research
on ageing workersʼ capacity to adapt to new technologies (Marquié, 1995) or
on ageing workers engaged in vocational training (Delgoulet et al, 1997).

Outcomes and steps requiring extra care with regard
to the senior population
A long monolithic experience and a strong occupational identity directed
adaptation of the training system. Nevertheless, at the time of the survey, the
commitment of older workers to the mobility programme was generally below
expectations, at approximately 30 employees of 53. But those employees
were highly committed: only two who had volunteered for the programme did
not complete the training.
Several types of barriers emerged, all of which related to attractiveness of
the new job from the participantsʼ perspective: image of working in a call
centre, variable working hours, and loss of extra shift work compensation.