European Social Fund in England

South East Regional Forum on Ageing Conference

2015: Creating a Region Fit for its Older Population 10 March 2009

Demographic changes mean that an estimated 34% of the population of the South East is aged 50 or older and this is greater than the number of under 25 year olds. These simple figures mean that we need to think about how our economy will work in the future and whether tomorrow’s workforce will be able to service the needs of a growing retirement population.

The conference was arranged to consider some of the key issues that need to be addressed to serve both the community and the economy in future years:

• shaping housing options for older people;
• what we need to do to help people stay healthy in later life;
• skills and employment of older workers;
• active ageing, options and opportunities;
• empowerment of older people.

The conference opened with a debate on some of these issues with questions being put to a panel including the Rt. Hon. Rosie Winterton, Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society. The other panel members represented organisations such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Department of Health, Age Concern and Counsel and Care. An interesting debate followed and this helped lay the groundwork for the subsequent workshop sessions.

The workshop covering skills and employment was of particular relevance from a training perspective and flagged up the importance of the older worker to the economy. This is likely to become more relevant as the lower birth rates means fewer people entering the job market. In particular:

• Employing older workers will increasingly be key to business success.
• Older workers have the necessary work ethos and are valued for their reliability, skills and empathy with others.
• 80% of new production ideas come from those over 40.
• Older workers have lower absentee rates and stick at jobs longer.
• Training older workers is good value for money as it improves their motivation, flexibility and productivity.

The conclusion for the skills workshop was that an increasing percentage of “Tomorrow’s Workforce” would comprise people in the 40-70 age group and as a result policies need to be put in place to ensure that this group has the necessary skills base to support the future economy and that businesses are aware of the benefits brought by this age group.

More information on the South East Regional Forum on Ageing can be found in the Public Health section of the Government Office for the South East website at: http://www.go-se.gov.uk/gose/publicHealth/improvement/701129/790925/