Page 19 - increasing-the-value-of-age-guidance-in-employers-age-management-strategies

Increasing the value of age: guidance in employers’ age management strategies

(b) developing anti-age discrimination legislation;
(c) providing subsidies to employers to keep older workers employed;
(d) providing subsidies to assist the re-return of older workers to the
organisation;
(e) establishing incentives for lifelong learning and skills development in the
workplace;
(f) developing awareness raising campaigns aiming at an attitude change in
companies towards older workers;
(g) creating government-sponsored ‘age management best practice’ company
prizes.

These national developments were accompanied by a wide range of
documents published since 2000, starting with the communication Towards a
Europe for all ages (European Commission, 1999), which identified higher
employment of older people as pivotal for a successful policy response to the
challenges posed by population ageing. There were also follow-up conferences.
However, the Lisbon Strategy in March 2000 indicated insufficient
participation of older workers on the labour market as one of the main
weaknesses of the Union and set the ambitious aim of achieving an employment
rate of 70% by 2010.
The importance of encouraging increased participation of older workers was
confirmed at subsequent European Council meetings from December 2000 until
March 2002 (European Council, 2000; 2001a; 2001b; 2001c; 2002). Since the
European Council meeting of March 2002 in Barcelona, there has been
continued emphasis on active ageing and raising the labour participation of older
2
3
workers ( ) ( ).
In March 2010 the European Council adopted the Europe 2020 Strategy in
which the European Commission points to increased ageing and low employment
– especially of older workers – as two of Europe’s main structural weaknesses.
The Commission proposed a target for 75% overall employment rate in 2020.
4
The target specifically needs greater involvement of older workers ( ) and for
Member States to promote new forms of work-life balance and active ageing

2
( ) European Council, 2003; 2005; European Commission, 2005a; 2005b; 2006b; 2009.
3
( ) Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States
(Council of the European Union, 2005). The same guidelines were adopted for 2008-
10 by the Council decision of March 2008 (Council of the European Union, 2008a).
4
( ) The Commission equally stresses the importance of the progressive inclusion of
women and immigrants on the labour market.

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