Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
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CHAPTER 13<br />
A Swedish programme for phasing out older employees based on consent <strong>and</strong> social responsibility 255<br />
as ʻthe capacity for people to be employedʼ <strong>and</strong> ʻit relates not only to adequacy<br />
of their knowledge <strong>and</strong> competences but also to the incentives <strong>and</strong><br />
opportunities offered to individuals to seek employmentʼ (European<br />
Commission, 2001, p.33). It has mostly been used to characterise the<br />
resource of individuals, with respect to how attractive they might be on the<br />
labour market, from a social <strong>and</strong> psychological perspective (Garsten <strong>and</strong><br />
Jacobsson, 2004; Berntson, 2008). According to this view, employability<br />
encompasses personal factors, competence, physical <strong>and</strong> mental health,<br />
availability of social networks, <strong>and</strong> life style. Van der Heijde <strong>and</strong><br />
Van der Heijden (2005) proposed the following definition of the concept of<br />
employability: ʻthe continuously fulfilling, acquiring or creating of work through<br />
the optimal use of competencesʼ. There are also contextual factors that need<br />
to be considered (Holmer et al., 2010) when it comes to the possibility for a<br />
person to remain in, or to return to, the labour market, barriers that have a<br />
systemic character that individuals cannot easily overcome. Such barriers may<br />
be with the employer or society, <strong>and</strong> can be based on negative attitudes with<br />
respect to, for example, age, gender, ethnicity <strong>and</strong> professional background.<br />
On the contextual employability of military officers, we saw that their<br />
competence is described in terms of leadership. Competence of officers is<br />
vague: what sort of leadership? Is it relevant in a civilian organisation? Some<br />
aspects affect contextual employability. Since many belonging to the prime<br />
target group are aged 50+, general negative attitudes towards older people<br />
must also be considered <strong>and</strong> overcome.<br />
When it comes to the individual, employability, defined in a narrow sense<br />
is widely variable. The stereotype is that military officers take responsibility,<br />
are clear, outspoken, social <strong>and</strong> full of initiative. These characteristics tend to<br />
further employability. They must also possess a high degree of self-esteem.<br />
Perceived employability is essential for a person contemplating whether or<br />
not to apply for career switching, since the perception itself is important <strong>and</strong><br />
has consequences for how a person reacts to events in the environment. ʻIf I<br />
perceive that I am employable it leads to a higher degree of self-esteem, not<br />
the other way aroundʼ (Berntson, 2008).<br />
Perceived employability depends on level of education <strong>and</strong> to what extent<br />
people have participated in competence development at work. It is much<br />
higher in times of economic growth than in recession. It can be concluded that<br />
competence development for the civilian labour market is essential for to what<br />
extent persons from the present target group can be career switched<br />
voluntarily. The career switching option can in the first place be expected to<br />
attract persons with documented <strong>and</strong> well-validated competence.