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Working and ageing
216 Guidance and counselling for mature learners

Key success factors
Success factors related to system design are:
(a) strong human resources mobilisation: managers were able to devote time
to communicate, and provide regular individual monitoring;
(b) time allowance: most of the process took place during working hours;
(c) review carried out by external third-party (corporate human resources or
external consultant): this helped to distinguish it from the usual
assessment process led by managers and to show a larger range of
internal job offers;
(d) impact of group sessions at start of process: these sessions, run by a
consultant, helped to reassure colleagues about expressing similar fears,
through group interaction between employees.
Success factors related to environment are:
(a) clarity of pathways opened: this was made possible by manpower
planning (job mapping, cross-bridges);
(b) means of encouraging mobility: internal job marketplace opened, one-time
assignments offered, corporate human resources dedicated to project;
(c) management trained to support the approach: informed about the
programmeʼs objectives, they were more likely to provide steady
managerial support for the relevant employees.

Outcomes and steps requiring extra care with regard
to the senior population
Of employees above age 50, 51% took part in the programme and accounted
for 32% of the Escale programme headcount, though they make up
approximately 20% of the total headcount. Of older workers who chose to sign
up for the Escale programme, 90% did so after the first interview. Slightly more
than 26% of older workers who entered the programme reported it impacted
on their career paths (internal assignment, internal or external mobility,
development in current position, internal plan).
However, overall, ageing workers benefited less from the programme
initiatives designed to foster employability or mobility. This outcome is likely
to be due to the socioprofessional categories into which most seniors fall,
namely manual workers or supervisors, who have limited internal development
opportunities for the time being.
This illustration confirms:
(a) the positive effects that an initial career review period can have in stirring
an older population into action, when the population has experienced little
change up to that point: this is a time dedicated to creating the confidence