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CHAPTER 3
Demographic changes and challenges in Europe with special focus on Germany 61

employees in SMEs – regional networks comprised of enterprises,
educational institutions and social partners.
Most enterprises in Germany are SMEs (around 90%). Their share in total
employment is around 60%. Compared to large enterprises – with a few
exceptions – SMEs are deemed to be less active when it comes to systematic
planning of initial and continuing vocational training; human resources
development work is rare (Bellmann and Leber, 2006; 2008; Schönfeld, 2006).
A project team of the University of Erfurt carried out qualitative and quantitative
case studies in SMEs (25-170 employees) in the German federal state of
Thuringia to gather information about demands of enterprises and employees
to support employment in a context of ageing. Older employees and
employersʼ representatives (senior/human resources management) were
interviewed. The purpose was to gather information about the age structure
of each enterprise and the personnel (development) policy. Employees were
asked about their working biography, a vocational self-assessment and their
future employment careers.
In small enterprises visited in Thuringia hardly any systematic and medium-
term measures to sustain employability of older workers exists, but
individual-related arrangements are practised. Almost all human resources
managers were keen to keep older employees at the enterprise. Since SMEs
are often unable to benefit from publicly-supported programmes of early
retirement for financial reasons, efforts are frequently made to avoid
redundancies by finding alternative employment opportunities for older
employees that no longer fit certain physical job requirements. Older
employees have almost always been with the enterprise for many years –
human resources managers feel they have a social obligation towards them.
The main positive factors mentioned for keeping these employees in the
enterprise are their highly developed problem-solving skills, multifunctional
aptitude and great flexibility about working hours. A structural perception of
an ageing ʻproblemʼ, which manifests itself in enterprises above all through
changes in the age structure of the overall workforce and a drop in the regional
availability of employees for recruitment, is less widespread.
Several interviews with representatives of labour market institutions,
members of employers associations and training institutes took place to get a
picture of cooperation between enterprises and other regional institutions on
employment of ageing workers. Based on these interviews (with enterprises,
employees and experts) instruments were developed to support SMEs and
assist training providers in implementing age-driven human resource
development and qualification. They were also designed to help employees