Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: - HelpAge International

Chapter 2: A fresh look at evidence – Income security in old age
Third Age Universities in China
Universities of the Third Age have been established in
many countries to educate those in the “third age” of
life. They have been adopted in China as an important
strategy for fostering education of older people,
together with other approaches through television,
radio programmes, the Internet and classroom
teaching. There are more than 30,000 universities
of the third age with more than three million older
students, set up by government, enterprises, armies,
colleges and research institutions.
Source: Du Peng, “The third age: opportunity for learning and teaching”,
in Population Ageing and the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations
Population Fund, 2009), pp. 157-165.
It is of critical importance to know the extent to which
working-hour constraints discourage older workers
from continuing to work or returning to work, especially
beyond the standard retirement age. The rise in
availability of part-time work over recent years seems
to be an important factor in addressing the workingtime
desires of older workers who might otherwise be
inactive. 122
In most developed countries, extending working lives
and increasing employment rates among older workers
are seen as an economic investment and are high on
the policy agendas. Of 164 countries with a statutory
retirement age, 43 increased the age between 2002 and
2009. 123 Measures introduced to encourage older workers
to remain in employment include education and
training, career counselling, job creation and flexible
working schemes. Active labour market policies in
which incentives are paid to employer or employee can
also address both the demand for, and supply of, labour
through a combination of initiatives. In Japan, for
example, subsidies are paid for hiring people aged 45-64
for whom finding employment is difficult due to lack of
experience.
In 2004, Hungary introduced an exemption from paying
a lump sum in health-care contributions for employers
who hire long-term unemployed people aged 50 years
and above. Also in Hungary, the Premium Years
Programme introduced in the same year promotes
gradual retirement. Similarly, Serbia mainstreamed
employment of older persons into its New Employment
Strategy for 2011-2020 in order to conform to the EU
Strategy 2020 and also offers an exemption from
insurance contributions through the National Action
Plan for Employment and the Law of Social Insurance
Contributions of 2006.
Self-employment initiatives are also being promoted.
This can be achieved by offering loan programmes that
grant older persons access to credit, as is done by the
Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium
Enterprises. In Belize, such loans for the rural older
population were introduced through the Belize Rural
Development Plan 2005.
In a number of countries, specific training programmes
have been created for older workers. In Latin America
and the Caribbean, for example, El Salvador, Mexico,
and Puerto Rico have developed training programmes
targeting their older workforce. In Mexico, the National
Institute for Older People (INAPAM) has developed a
training programme targeting older adults who would
like to be reintegrated into the labour market. In 2006,
the Government of Canada introduced the Targeted
Initiative for Older Workers which has continued
to provide employment and income assistance to
unemployed older workers throughout the economic
crisis. Denmark and Sweden have been cited as two
countries that invest heavily in lifelong learning
programmes targeted specifically at poorly qualified
workers to ensure that they maintain their
employability. 124
The European Commission has integrated its various
educational and training initiatives under a single
umbrella, the Lifelong Learning Programme. 125
Its Human Resources Development Recommendation
of 2004 (No. 195) calls upon Member States to “promote
access to education, training and lifelong learning for
people with nationally identified special needs, such as
… older workers …”. 126 In 2008, the ILO adopted a set
of Conclusions that call on governments “as part of
their lifelong learning agenda, to focus on providing
employment placement services, guidance and
appropriate active labour market measures such as
training programmes targeting older workers and,
where possible, supported by legislation to counter age
discrimination and facilitate workforce participation”. 127
The importance of investment in education and skills
development of older people is underscored by rapid
technological developments, which call for a continuous
renewal and updating of skills. Research presents a
mixed picture of the willingness and the ability of older
workers to use new technologies. Nevertheless, there
has been a substantial decline in the proportion of
workers who have never used a computer at work, with
the largest improvement being among older workers.
58 Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A Celebration and A Challenge