Action on Age
By Barry Johnson and Mandy Geal (September 2005 Issue)
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Age discrimination in the workplace is a real problem in this country, and not just for older workers themselves; government figures estimate that the annual cost of age discrimination to the UK economy is about £31 billion per annum. The pensions’ shortfall is already starting to give the government and companies a headache and one proposed solution is to defer retirement to 70 years of age. Next year, age discrimination legislation is to be introduced
These economic and political issues are occurring in the climate of the long known and long ignored demographic time bomb of falling birth rate. To give you a few figures: the UK fertility rate now stands at 1.7 children per woman but to maintain a stable population the rate should be 2.1 children. The number of UK citizens aged between 16 and 29 has fallen by 14 per cent since 1991. In 1916 life expectancy was approximately 45 years for men and 49 for women, compared to a life expectancy for men of 76 years and for women of 81 today - figures that continue to rise every year. The result of this is that by 2020 a quarter of the work force will be over 50; in 1990 it was 20 per cent.
Ageism in society is now evident and clearly counter-productive. While you no doubt still hear people say, ‘he/she is 50 and will only have 13 years at the most.’, an aging workforce may have real benefits to an organisation. The average graduate spends in the region of two years in a job and it is now rare to keep people of ability in their mid 20s to mid 30s as long as seven years. The average 50-something, by contrast, stays in employment until retirement. The sickness absence records of the over 40s are also much better than those in their 20s and 30snand that's before you've even consider the most valuable asset older workers bring to your organisation – experience.
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- Driving Learning that 'sticks'
- Training Journal interviews Jim Collins
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Action on Age
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- How to become more innovative with Accelerated Learning
- E-learning: keeping rail operators on track
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- Me and my capital
- Assessing Learning Needs