Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa

CHAPTER 8
Policy, research and practice:
supporting longer careers for
baby-boomers ( 37 )
Marg Malloch
The baby-boomer generation is identified variously, referring to the generation
born after the Second World War, and generally encompasses those born
between the years 1946 to 1964 (Jorgensen, 2003; Lancaster and Stillman,
2002). The boomers are reaching retirement age and the population bulge they
present is now a challenge for individual workers, businesses, enterprises and
policy-makers internationally. Particularly in a time of international financial
difficulties, ability of the nation State to support an ageing population is
stressed. Concerns abound about having a sufficiently skilled workforce,
coping with the imbalance of having too few taxpayers, and too high health
and social care demands on the State. Older workers can experience
difficulties in remaining in employment, moving into new roles and participating
in learning. Attention is therefore turning, albeit slowly, given the rapidly greying
population, to a consideration how best to cope with this. To support longer
working lives, ageing workers need guidance and counselling, the focus of this
publication. It is argued in this chapter that focus on the individual worker, while
important, is merely one aspect of the situation. It is businesses, enterprises,
local authorities, and national and international policy-makers who need
seriously to address the issues, create relevant policies and implement them.
8.1. Introduction
The overall picture of an ageing workforce is one of a population bulge of
baby-boomers requiring old age pensions, increased medical care and
supported accommodation and transport, draining resources from taxes of a
smaller number of younger workers. There are concerns about viability of
( 37 ) With thanks to MʼHamed Dif, Marja-Leena Stenstrom, and Liliana Voicu for suggesting additional
literature and providing feedback on drafts of the workshop paper.