Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
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48<br />
<strong>Working</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>ageing</strong><br />
Guidance <strong>and</strong> counselling for mature learners<br />
heuristic – vision of new social <strong>and</strong> economic dynamics in societies. Moreover,<br />
the concept stresses the relevance of transitional labour markets for future<br />
labour-market research <strong>and</strong> policies. Individualisation in society leads to<br />
discontinuous life cycles <strong>and</strong> working life patterns. In the future, continuous<br />
transitions in <strong>and</strong> out of work will increasingly determine individual working<br />
life <strong>and</strong> drive the way labour markets function. As a framework for the changes<br />
in individual work patterns <strong>and</strong> their consequences for passive <strong>and</strong> active<br />
labour-market policies, the analytical concept of transitional labour markets is<br />
very fruitful. It enables better underst<strong>and</strong>ing of institutional arrangements that<br />
support both flexibility <strong>and</strong> security to make it easier to move from precarious<br />
to stable jobs or to deal with discontinuities in the life cycle. The concept allows<br />
assessing practices in Germany <strong>and</strong> other European countries against criteria<br />
for good transitional labour markets, to compare them <strong>and</strong> to benefit from<br />
common learning (Schmid, 2006).<br />
Transitional labour markets are characterised by both continuous transitions<br />
of persons within labour-market segments (part-time/full-time employment <strong>and</strong><br />
unemployment) <strong>and</strong> transitions to other socioeconomic segments (such as<br />
education, care <strong>and</strong> retirement). The concept is heuristic, first <strong>and</strong> foremost,<br />
<strong>and</strong> should be seen as a framework for research design to grasp the<br />
relationships between the core labour market ( 14 ) <strong>and</strong> other societal situations.<br />
However, it also describes institutional labour-market structures <strong>and</strong> strategic<br />
policy options for passive/active labour-market policies, for example<br />
implementation of policies <strong>and</strong> measures that change institutional<br />
arrangements. Measures that aim to increase employment have to consider<br />
framework regulations put in place by, for example, the State. Figure 3.2 gives<br />
an overview of the concept by outlining the different flows.<br />
The core of this concept is that individuals will not occupy one fixed position<br />
during their working lives, but several. This of course means a substantial<br />
break with the traditional approach where individuals occupy unique positions<br />
with unique time sequences during their working lives. Moreover, the concept<br />
encompasses people occupying several positions at the same time (such as<br />
combining part-time work with care) – in this case, the important link with the<br />
core labour market can continue to exist. This analytical scheme can be<br />
interpreted at individual level, with reference to the individualʼs life cycle <strong>and</strong><br />
working life. It then shows how individuals can have several employment<br />
( 14 ) The core labour market is characterised by fairly stable jobs, relatively steady wage rises often<br />
confirmed by collective agreements, working <strong>and</strong> health measures or employee representations,<br />
while labour conditions at the periphery are precarious (temporary work contracts, shorter working<br />
time, lower wages, hazardous working conditions, etc.).