Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa

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252 Working and ageing Guidance and counselling for mature learners have difficulties to see themselves in a civilian role: ʻthe only way to stop being a military officer honourably is to retire – or to die in combatʼ (human resources); ʻin units there is enormous comradeship. Many people who have left miss this. Solidarity within the armed forces is large. Many who have left long to be backʼ (union). There are mixed opinions on how attractive military competence in fact is in the civilian market. Respondents stress leadership, but there is some mistrust: is military leadership applicable outside the army?: ʻofficers have sometimes a competence that is in demand, particularly if they have good supplementary education. To have military competence alone doesnʼt suffice! Training in leadership is not enough, it is good, but it needs to be further developed, in particular for commercial jobs with budgetary responsibilityʼ (commanding officer); ʻit is said that officers are well received everywhere, but I feel thatʼs not always the case, they are old fashioned, hierarchicalʼ (human resources); ʻcivilians have a specific competence, but what do I know as an officer?ʼ (human resources); ʻmany officers lack competence for civilian jobs, they have no academic backgroundʼ (union); ʻthey match the civilian market, but you need to switch to another branch and then there is a need to develop some things, particularly in economic depression, for instance administrative systemsʼ (outplacement). Admittedly, the competence of officers is difficult to validate for civilian job profiles: ʻit is […] hard to get a picture of the leadership and the training we offer. Employment consultants run their models, and then military officers and their competence are left outʼ (commanding officer). How to develop clarity when it comes to competence? It is suggested that education needs to be university-based to a larger extent. You may also develop an internal system for competence mapping: ʻwhat is needed is adequate documentation of professional obligations. Job descriptions would help internally and externallyʼ (commanding officer). According to outplacement consultants, other typical characteristics for officers include: their communicativeness, sociability and flexibility, and that they can handle several tasks and obligations concurrently. This may however be valid more for those who apply and join the programme than for the population at large.
13.5. Discussion CHAPTER 13 A Swedish programme for phasing out older employees based on consent and social responsibility 253 The career switching project has met different reactions in different parts of the organisation. In some units – particularly those engaged in the test phase and close to the supreme commander – intentions have been implemented, and several persons joined the project successfully. In other units activity was very low, or completely absent, even with firm directives from the supreme commander. 13.5.1. Organisational barriers: role of commanding officers Commanding officers in units have voiced opinions such as: ʻwe donʼt have this problem with the age structure in our unit. There are many other things to prioritise here than to worry about the future age profileʼ; ʻif we lose officers in the career switching project we may have difficulties to be allowed to find substitutesʼ. There are good reasons to reflect on these types of reaction. Career switching is part of current reform of the Swedish Armed Forces and its way to relate to officersʼ obligations, responsibilities, terms of employment and career planning in the future. All employees will be affected. These are facts that commanding officers must be aware of. The armed forces may be described in part as a mechanistic organisation (Burns and Stalker, 1961). Such an organisation is characterised by, for example, existence of clear rules for what needs to be done, thoroughly specified responsibilities, and vertical communication. It is a form of organisation that can work well under stable conditions. However, a mechanistic organisation has drawbacks, in particular in times of change (Börnfelt, 2009). Units are organised by function. They all strive for more resources; their first priority is for the unit to survive and even grow. Political conflicts tend to develop, in particular when the organisation is facing overriding changes. Some aspects related to the relationship between central management and units in the armed forces organisation can be described according to the mechanistic organisation model. The impact of the career switching project is very different in different parts of the organisation. It is evident that there is reluctance in parts of the organisation to accept overriding political and strategic realities, manifested in the career switching project. The analysis is questioned: ʻthe age structure is not a problem, at least not in my unit, and not now; there is no reason to prioritise the measures asked for by central management at this timeʼ. Managers tend to feel solidarity in the first place
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EN Working and ageing Guidance and
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A great deal of additional informat
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Foreword Population ageing is one o
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Acknowledgements This publication r
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8. Policy, research and practice: s
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14.2. Participation rates of indivi
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CHAPTER 1 Setting the scene: promot
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To improve quality and transparency
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Gomes present the set-up and outcom
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CHAPTER 2 Do European employers sup
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CHAPTER 5 Cognitive ageing in older
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PART 2 Meeting the challenges - Eme
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unmet demand is limited, as is the
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people in the second phase (25-50)
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CHAPTER 7 Learning, work and later
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are now better than ever before, es
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CHAPTER 8 Policy, research and prac
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will need to be supported by struct
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ʻflexicurityʼ model is challenged
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different forms of retirement (2010
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8.8. Policy considerations CHAPTER
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9.1. Introduction CHAPTER 9 Changin
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CHAPTER 9 Changing patterns of guid
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their continuing learning and devel
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Table 9.4. Use of past work experie
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CHAPTER 10 Career development in la
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life, much will change. Cate and Jo
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Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa

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