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CONCLUSIONS
Ageing Europe at work – Guidance to support longer careers of ageing workers 289

players. National governments, regional and local authorities, private and
public employers, the social partners and others have a key role to play in
establishing an environment that is conducive to active ageing and longer
working lives and in abolishing age barriers to employment and skills
development.
Age-specialised guidance services can provide support beyond career
management and skill development, for instance, by improving motivation,
personal fulfilment, self-confidence and self-esteem of individual clients. The
work environment needs to be accommodating as well, in providing
opportunities for skill development and reflection on working life and careers.
A climate encouraging intergenerational learning at individual, group and
organisational levels is another factor that can improve effectiveness of
guidance and counselling. Support can also encompass different dimensions.
For example, better understanding processes of cognitive decline enables
better design of support measures and a more targeted approach towards
people in different age cohorts.
Complexity of the issues and multitude of actors involved imply that
exchange of experiences and knowledge becomes crucial at all levels of
governance to eliminate obstacles to active ageing and to combat negative
stereotypes associated with ageing workers. Some authors highlighted the
crucial contribution of proactive and concerted efforts by various stakeholders
to removing barriers to employment opportunities for older workers. By means
of cross-sectoral and stakeholder cooperation and coordination, diverse needs
of the (ageing) labour force can be better met. This contributes to older people
working and living longer, with a better quality of life.

Implications for future research and
policy analysis

As the impacts of ageing become increasingly visible, the long-term goal
across Europe should be to promote an age-neutral approach to employment.
This approach should encourage sustainable participation of ageing people
on the labour market and in society by ensuring more favourable employment
prospects and raising awareness about active ageing at work. A holistic
approach to guidance and counselling will also benefit new entrants to the
labour market, the young, and is an important aspect of better and faster
adaptation of education and training provisions to changing labour-market
needs.