Page 66 - increasing-the-value-of-age-guidance-in-employers-age-management-strategies

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

specific labour market information to support their decision-making. There
should be sector-specific initiatives;
(c) individuals with a low level of computing skills or access may be excluded
from using these services. In some countries bandwidth limitations and cost
of internet access may restrict the range of resources that can be accessed;
(d) online services cannot replace face-to-face counselling and its potential, due
to their natural physical limitations and setting which only allow for certain
sets of guidance activities (normally self-assessment and information)
frequently without any direct professional support.

Most Member States have designed awareness and information campaigns
to promote a change of attitude towards older workers and the need for everyone
to work longer. They target businesses, prompting them to hire and retain older
workers as employees. This often takes the form of developing websites,
developing practical guidelines and setting up working groups, sharing good
practices and involving key actors in the business world.
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An example is the website Seniorpraksis.dk ( ) in Denmark, setup by the
National Labour Market Authority to be a knowledge resource for companies to
access methodologies, documented experiences and inspiration, to develop their
own active age management to maintain and recruit senior employees.
The Department for Work and Pensions in the UK puts much effort into
workforce management by employers, especially through the Government’s age
positive initiative. This initiative was designed to help employers develop good
practice, supporting them in all aspects related to employing older workers,
granting access to guidance services, mostly available online.

4.5. Assuring guidance provision quality
Guaranteeing citizen access to guidance is one important priority of policy
development, but it must also be assured that the services provided match quality
standards. The development of a comprehensive and cross-industry quality-
assurance framework is very important for citizens who are seeking guidance, as
well as for service providers and funding bodies (whether public or private)
(Maltby, 2011). Nevertheless, when looking at guidance at company level, it
seems to be mostly up to the company to assure quality guidance provision and
to determine the requirements for guidance practitioners. Despite the frequent

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( ) http://seniorpraksis.dk [accessed 1.4.2014].

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