Transcript The Voice of Seniority - Older Workers in Focus

OLDER WORKERS, AGEING
SOCIETY AND LIFELONG
LEARNING
(EDUWORLD CONFERENCE,
PITESTI, NOVEMBER 2012)
NVL Older Workers Network
Leif Emil Hansen, Roskilde University, DK
Background:
• Discussions in OWN (Older Workers
Network), Nordic Council of Ministers
Literature: Report and pamphlet Active
Learning and Ageing at Work, 2009
• Report Social Partners: out with Early Exit
– in with Lifelong Learning and Career
Development?, 2011
(both to be found at www.nordvux.net/)
The group
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Tarja Tikkanen, Norway
Bernhardur Gudmundsson, Iceland
Susanna Paloniemi, Finland
Ulpukka Isopahkala-Bouret, Finland
Hanne Randle, Sweden
Jon Sandvik, Norway
and myself
Initial personal and idiosyncratic
remarks and reflections on the
topic
• The debate is diffuse and stereotyped: are
we talking about retirement age and
retaining senior workers longer on the
labour market? Or are we talking about an
active life with qualities for those who have
already retired?
• Do we want to promote an economic or
humanistic perspective on the topic?
(employability and competitiveness – or
life quality for all?)
Are we accepting alienating
discourses?
• Why do we always see demographic
statistics when ageing is discussed? (with
new human skills, technology and lean
work organization etc. productivity raises
significantly; probably even a small
amount of young people will in the future
be able to produce values enough to
provide for themselves and the ’grey gold’
– today less than half amount of workers
produce more than double GNP compared
Do we conceptualize concisely
enough?
• We talk about older people (workers,
learners). What if the one and only thing
they have in common is their age? (in
reality it is a very heterogenous group;
they have many different profiles and
characteristica: gender, educational level,
health, socio-cultural values and life styles
etc.
The predominant political
discourses are even more silly
• Most of the legislation and practices are
based in former historical epochs; older
people (60+) are seen as by definition
weak, poor and helpless (free transport,
for instance)
• But the concept and symbolic meaning of
ageing is changing dramatically in hyper
modernity (40% of the pensioners in DK
have an annual income above the
average…)
The SKI generation
• In pre-modernity there was nothing like
childhood, adolescense (my spelling???)
and youth; also there was no 3rd and 4th
age
• Now the empty nest and post parental
period is the dominating aspect of adult
biographies (and seems to be of major
interest for commercialization – it is a new
and potent consumer segment)
Reversing cultures
• Historical epochs become shorter and
shorter
• History speeds up (like all of us)
• A 60 year old today is probably younger
than a 50 year old was 40 years ago (if he
belongs to the meritocracy – if he is a low
skilled manual worker he is as worn out as
he ever was)
A different view, set up and
Inszenierung?
• In my view we need a much more
differentiated, sophisticated and dialectical
conceptualisation to really grasp the
complexity of this topic
• If not we are in risk of repeating the same
superficial and false understandings over
and over again
• We probably need help from the older
learners and non learners themselves –
bottom up processes
By the way
• Do we know what (informal) ’learning’ is?
(I personally do not)
• There are probably non participating
adults that learn more on an everyday
basis than (some of) those participating in
adult education
• The crucial question is whether curiosity
and autonomy is allowed, promoted and
recognised in work, communities, families
and personal life
Ethos of OWNs discussions
When it comes to the issue of older workers, we
have wanted to:
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Confront stigmatising stereotypes
Changing the mindsets about older learners
Identify ambivalences in policies and practices
Advocate for more choices and opportunities in
work and learning – by:
• Bringing forward the voice and initiative of older
workers themselves
Common values
Employability and opportunities for older workers
should be based on Nordic values and
traditions:
• Principles of welfare state (universal or target
group oriented?
• Learner-centred adult education
• Democracy and bottom up processes
• Cooperation and social dialogue (tripartite)
• Equality (genders, ethnicities, educational and
cultural background etc.)
Distinctive Nordic ’patterns’ in adult
education
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High participation rate
High volume per capita
High public share in financing
High share of public providers
High share of personal interest education
BUT: this does not go to the same extent for older
workers, especially the low educated.
More attention should be drawn to older workers
as learners!
Conclusion and recommendations
1. Working life and industry The workplace is an
important arena for learning. Most of the skills and the
knowledge development take place at the workplace.
Promoting learning – for older workers as well - is good
business.
• 2. Training-the-trainers Institutions providing learning
opportunities must invest in the competence of the adult
trainers in regards to learning and education of and for
older workers and their special needs.
• 3. Trade unions and social partners need to promote
the change of the mindsets of working, learning and
ageing by enhancing flexibility and diversity in learning
and working in later life.
Recommendations (continued)
• 4. Older workers themselves must take a more active
role in this equation - in particular towards social
partners and politicians – asking for support and
legislation to promote their special needs to provide
more choices.
• 5. Media All stakeholders should provide media with
good examples and inter-generational discussion on
“active ageing” in its various dimensions and meanings.
• 6. The Nordic Council should add momentum to the
national governments’ work in making LLL a living reality
to all, including the seniors. This work has particularly to
do with opportunities and partnerships for continuing
learning for older workers.