 | |
Programme on Ageing Workers 1998-2002 - Finland
Source: Ministry of Labour
The National Program for Ageing Workers aims to re-inforce the position of the over 45’s in the job market. The Program will focus on both unemployed and employed persons.
The current situation of ageing persons in the job market will set increasingly difficult challenges for population policy. If too many of those who are working choose early retirement, this will exacerbate the ongoing change in the age structure and will cause problems for companies and for the national economy.
The work place must come to realise that experience and skills are a national asset which must be valued and preserved.
The Program seeks to initiate a change in attitude, which will help raise the position of ageing workers. The aim is to support such persons in their efforts to
The objective is to ensure that as many people as possible avoid an unnecessary, early retirement.
The background to the present situation is the poor position of ageing workers in the job market. Statistics show that the number of over 60 year-olds in the workforce in Finland is less than average compared to other EU countries. The age structure of the work force will significantly change in the next few years:
These changes in the age structure will occur by the year 2000.
The National Program for Ageing
Workers aims to affect all factors which directly or indirectly influence the
position of ageing workers in working life. The Program covers the following
organisations and sectors:
The aim is to prevent inequalities based on age and the various problems
which derive from it, and to improve the atmosphere in the working
environment. The National Program for Ageing Workers will carry out research and report
on the strengths of age and experience, and the advantages they bring to
working life. In order to support ageing workers in their efforts, to actively
remain in the job market, the Program also aims to influence the renewal of
laws, regulations and administrative structures.
The National Program for Ageing Workers 1998 - 2002 is based on the IKOMI committee’s report on improving the employment conditions for ageing workers, which appeared in autumn 1996. On the basis of this report, on February 6, 1997, the Finnish Government made a policy decision which laid the foundations for establishing the National Program for Ageing Workers on May 1, 1997. Principal responsibility for the National Program for Ageing Workers was given to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, while the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Education were also given certain responsibilities.
The Advisory or Managing Committee of the National Program for Ageing Workers also has represent-atives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the major labour market organisations, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the Social Insurance Institution, the Federation of Employment Pension Institutes (TELA), the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, and the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners.
The Managing Committee controls and co-ordinates the National Program for Ageing Workers and any operations related to it, monitors these operations, and prepares development activities related to the Program. The Chairman is Mr Markku Lehto, Secretary General, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and the Deputy Chairman is Mr Pertti Sorsa, Secretary General, Ministry of Labour.
The ministries responsible for the implementation of the Program have appointed work groups for their own operating sectors. The chairpersons for these ministry work groups are Mr Rolf Myhrman, Deputy Under-Secretary (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health), Ms Ulla Liukkunen, Senior Inspector (Ministry of Labour) and Ms Marita Savola, Education Counsellor (Ministry of Education).
At the Ministry of Education, the aims
of the National Programme on Ageing Workers have been taken into account in all the main plans and decisions on which operations are based, in the performance targets of the Ministry and its sphere of administration, and in its information management. The programme has also been made an area of focus for adult education in the Budget.The Ministry has promoted the
National Programme on Ageing Workers through management by results and special projects. In order to boost activity on the issue, the Ministry arranged seminars and other gatherings for policymakers, experts and other stakeholders, which attracted a great deal of participants.In implementation of the National
Programme on Ageing Workers, special attention has been paid to providing information on training opportunities, improving vocational skills, ensuring the competence of teaching staff and offering all members of the public basic information and communications technology (ICT) skills. Including adult education at universities, 12-13% of the education and training expenditure of the Ministry’s main title of expenditure, i.e. nearly EUR 700 million, is channelled into adult education.The policy of lifelong learning has played
a key role in implementation of the National Programme on Ageing Workers, and its aims are included in the development plan for education and research for 1999-2004 approved by the Government on December 29, 1999. The most notable aim is to provide for the training needs of middle-aged adults, especially those with poor basic education and poor study skills.The issues involved in improving the
educational level of people with only basic education have been dealt with by the parliamentary working group on adult education, and the proposals made by the group are presented later on in this report.One of the aims of the development
plan is to make it more inviting to enter adult education by structuring studies around individual people’s own background and keeping study times reasonable, as well as drawing up personal study plans for students. In 2000, a multiannual project for making adult education more individualized (Aikuisopiskelun henkilökohtaistaminen, a.k.a AiHe) was launched with joint funding from the ESF and the Ministry of Education, with the aim of improving the quality and effectiveness of vocational skills tests by making adult education more individually tailored. By the end of 2001, the project comprised 40 educational institutions providing vocational education for adults.Information society skills for all
The project
Information society skills for all! is an important part of the Ministry of Education’s strategy for education, training and research in the information society for 2000-2004, and it receives an allocation of about EUR 2.5 million a year from the Ministry.In addition to practical user skills, the
basic information society skills are defined as including communications skills, the ability to find and use information, consumer awareness and an awareness of and control over cause and effect. When the project began, an estimated 1.5 million Finns lacked these skills, many of whom were middle-aged or older.The aim is to halve the number of
people without ICT skills by 2005, and in principle everyone has been offered an opportunity to acquire basic computer skills appropriate for their life situation.The basic organization in charge of
implementing the development programme comprises adult education institutions, libraries, YLE (the Finnish broadcasting company), local authorities, NGOs and other partners. Actions have focused on expanding the availability of studia generalia and other studies provided by adult education institutes, ensuring that versatile teaching materials are available, training support and advisory staff and activating NGOs.In 2000, the annual adult education
week acted as a motivating campaign for the project. Products featured during the week included simple user guides for computers and mobile phones, the Internet service ILONET specifically designed for adults and elderly people, and the citizen’s @-card (a basic computer use certificate) in cooperation with TIEKE ry.As a follow-up campaign, a communications
day for older people, ‘Seniors on the web’, was arranged in cooperation with the Finnish Library Association and a number of companies at over 200 libraries in Finland. An experimental and development project was also arranged in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, focusing on ICT skills for people over 45 in Southern Ostrobothnia. The Ministry of Education has been speeding implementation of the eLearning/eEurope programmes with about EUR 2.5 million of development funds and other appropriations within the Budget, most of this in the form of grants to the studia generalia sector from the National Board of Education.The Ministry focused the study
voucher experiment on basic ICT skills. The purpose of the experiment is to make it easier to acquire information society skills, especially for middle-aged and retired people, people outside working life and certain special groups. The experiment is also a way of collecting information on the feasibility of using the study voucher more extensively as a form of funding for adult education. Based on the results from the pilot stage of the experiment, the study voucher appears to be a practical way of boosting ICT training in terms of both content and volume, in keeping with middle-aged people’s needs.Skills and competence of teaching staff
The Budget allocation for education staff
training in the focus areas of education policy is about EUR 12 million annually. Important focus areas during the programme period of the National Programme on Ageing Workers have included mathematics and natural science, evaluation operations, management and on-the-job-training. A considerable part of additional training provision has focused on vocational training for adults and on developing the skills of the teaching staff in the studia generalia sector and advisory services.Changes in the work of teachers, their
age structure and educational level, and education policy reforms have created a need for extensive investments in the expertise of teaching staff, and national development projects have been launched at the Ministry of Education to this end.The purpose of supplementary training is
to maintain and improve the formal competence of teachers, but also support and help them stay on at work and prevent burnout. Different training providers’ potential for focusing resources on the expertise of teachers varies a great deal.The Ministry of Education, the
National Board of Education and the education departments of provincial State offices have been seeking to improve this situation by allocating annual funding for focus areas in education staff training.Basic teacher training, teaching practice
and supplementary training have covered the training needs of teachers in terms of both content, volume, regional and language aspects. The results of evaluation and anticipation of basic and supplementary teacher training have been taken into account in developing training provision.The Ministry has also launched tailormade
further training programmes in the area of adult education. The research, development and training programme for adult vocational education staff (TUKEVA), the project on skills and competence for studia generalia staff (VSOP), and the supplementary training programme in management skills for the staff of advisory organizations (JOVA) offer 3,500-4,000 employees in the field an opportunity to improve their skills and competence. A project to anticipate the need for basic and supplementary teacher training (OPEPRO) which began in autumn 1998 has produced a comprehensive survey of teacher training.Based on anticipation surveys and
evaluation of basic and supplementary teacher training, the Ministry has drawn up a teacher training development programme, which includes qualitative and quantitative targets. A number of different solutions will be applied in expanding teacher training. In addition to increasing the number of training and student places, flexible training solutions are still needed, in order to allow people to complete any missing parts of their degrees alongside work, and also to encourage people to change from other occupations to teaching.Information and advisory services
With support from the ESF, the Ministry
has launched a development project called Opintoluotsi, which will create an Internet information and advisory service covering the entire Finnish education system and providing information for everyone. The aim of the service is to help people find training opportunities and the courses or programmes which suit their individual situation. The service is coordinated by the University of Helsinki.A first version of this online service will
be available to the public in spring 2002. The Opintoluotsi service concept comprises four parts:A search function, which helps
Introductory information produced
An inspirational and interactive
Support functions which facilitate
An information website on
Opintoluotsi already exists at http://www.opintoluotsi.minedu.fi. The comprehensiveness of the service will be boosted in cooperation with educational institutions and other producers of information on education and training. A separate online service, Oppilaitosluotsi, has been opened for them at www.oppilaitosluotsi.net. The Opintoluotsi service also offers a specific support service for careers advisors and student counsellors. This service, which requires users to register, is also a forum for interaction between the public services and the expertise of the advisory and counselling field. The service can be found at http://www.asiantuntijaluotsi.net.At the beginning of the National
Programme on Ageing Workers, the Ministry published a study handbook on ageing (Hyvän iän opinto-opas) in cooperation with the National Board of Education; the handbook contains a presentation of training on offer which is especially useful for the target group of the programme, and good practices in line with the programme’s aims.Income during periods of study
The Ministry of Education took part in
preparations for stage II of the training guarantee, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Labour and the main labour market organizations. New legislation on support for self-motivated study by the unemployed entered into force on January 1, 1998.This offered unemployed people the
choice of a ‘training allowance for the unemployed’, equal in amount to the unemployment allowance, during selfmotivated vocational study. The condition for granting an unemployed person this training allowance is that he must have worked for at least ten years and have been receiving daily unemployment allowance or labour market support for at least 86 days during the 12 months immediately preceding the start of training.Legislation on the adult education
allowance entered into force on January 1, 2001. The adult education allowance is a form of support for self-motivated study by employed adults, and it forms stage III of the study guarantee system. As of August 1, 2001, employed adults have been eligible for an adult education allowance in proportion to their earnings level for full-time vocational study or competenceimproving studies, for a period of about 1.5 years total during their career, to be taken in one or more periods. The adult education allowance consists of an allowance and a State guarantee for a study loan. The Ministry of Education has been in charge of the definition of types of study which confer the right to this allowance and for coordinating this new form of support with the existing system of financial aid for students.The second 5-year period of the
Kunnossa kaiken ikää (‘Fitness for life’) programme which is jointly funded by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health continues during 2000-2004. The programme focuses primarily on people over 40, and in second programme period there is an additional focus on the elderly, in line with the Government programme. The main aim of the programme is to encourage people to take up exercise or sport even if they have never done this before, and it has been quite successful in achieving this aim.A pilot project on activating people to
exercise for their health was launched in 2001. Nearly 2.3 million working age Finns suffer from impaired functional capacity. The target group of the programme consists of adults who do not get enough exercise to maintain their health and fitness, and who may therefore be at risk of deteriorating work ability and functional capacity. The aim is to encourage people to exercise for their health and to support the formation of local service chains for healthy exercise, including local adult education centres and similar institutions. Participants in the project included the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Keski-Suomen Liikunta ry, the Finnish Recreational Sports Association and the Association of Adult Education Centres.The Ministry of Education has commissioned
studies on adult education and taken part in national and international studies on the state of adult education. The most notable of these was the OECD Thematic Review on Adult Learning, according to which Finland has the highest adult education participation rate among the working-age population in the OECD countries. According to this international comparison, adult Finns are active students and Finland has adopted a learning culture.The comprehensive network of educational
institutions catering to adult learners and the widespread use of computers and virtual learning environments provide Finns with a solid foundation for lifelong learning. The Finnish adult education system is unique in terms of its ‘double nature’. On the one hand, there are training programmes designed specifically for adults and special adult education institutions. On the other hand, training in general is age-neutral, so both young people and adults can take part in the same courses.Adult education is fairly individual in
its nature. The adult education system provides individual study paths for adult learners. There are special training programmes designed for adults and they can have personal study programmes drawn up for them.Adult learners also have a choice of
flexible studies which are not tied to specific times or places. The skills test system and the teacher training and recruitment systems are successful practices which could be used as models for other countries, too. The skills test system has successfully combined recognition of informal learning with a skills level required for formal and generally accepted qualifications. It is also a key factor in the flexibility of the adult education system. Teachers, meanwhile, are often working in the field that they teach in, which means they are abreast of the latest information on actual working practices in the field.The assessment is supplemented by an
Adult Literacy Survey of 20 countries which was completed in 2000 (OECD/SIALS), according to which Finnish people are, on the whole, among the most active readers by international comparison, even if there are Finns who suffer from severe deficiencies in functional literacy. Poor reading skills make it difficult to take part in adult education and prevent active civic participation in the information society.The Ministry of Education funded a
follow-up analysis at the educational research centre Koulutustutkimuskeskus, which focused particularly on the potential and problems of people over 40 in adult education. The Ministry also launched a study on a related subject at the department of sociology at the University of Joensuu in 2001, analyzing the adult education potential of people with low basic education.The Adult education 2000 study by
Statistics Finland shows that 1.8 million adult learners took part in adult education, with more women than men taking part. Most of the training in question was work-related.The National Board of Education’s
assessment of the vocational qualification system was completed in 2001. The Ministry of Education has also taken part in the preparation and funding of the Academy of Finland’s research programme on ageing.The main challenge for adult education
is still how to encourage people with poor basic training, ageing people and those at risk of exclusion to take part in adult education. Although Finnish people are more active than people in the other OECD countries in taking part in adult education, the training has a tendency to ‘accumulate’ more in certain groups than in the other Nordic countries. For instance, unemployed people and bluecollar workers study less as adults than other groups.The studies mentioned above further
emphasize the need for measures to expand educational provision for those with the poorest basic education or who are otherwise in a vulnerable position, and to tailor provision more to their needs. The report of the Parliamentary adult education and training committee (OPM 3:2002) contains more detailed proposals for measures in the spheres of the education and labour administrations.The Parliamentary adult education and training committee
In spring 2001, the Ministry of Education
appointed a Parliamentary adult education and training committee, which was given the assignment of making an extensive study on the present state and resources of adult education and training and making proposals on how it can be further developed. The committee included representatives of the political parties, the education and labour administrations, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the labour market organizations and the main training providers. At the time of writing, the report of the committee is being circulated for comments.In its study, the committee paid particular
attention to changes in occupational structures and the position of ageing people in working life. Wellbeing at work and motivation are crucial factors in ageing employees’ decisions on whether to stay on at work or take some form of retirement. In its report, the committee finds that improving the skills of ageing workers will also improve their job satisfaction as they gain more interesting and secure jobs.One of the main proposals is that a
five-year competence boosting programme should be started for people of working age with poor basic training.People without secondary education
would be offered an opportunity to improve their skills to the level of a secondary vocational qualification.Between 8,000-12,000 annual student
places would be booked for this in 2003-2007. Part of the resources of the project would be channelled into improving information society skills, for instance basic qualifications in computer use. Working life is changing, not just in terms of occupational structures, but also in terms of the actual content of almost all occupations. The rapid pace of change causes skills to go out of date faster than before, and additional or supplementary training is therefore essential. The Parliamentary adult education and training committee proposes that adults should be given the opportunity to update their skills through a short development period every year, and to take part in more extensive training every 10-15 years.The committee also feels that studies in
the studia generalia sector are important as a way of ensuring active civic participation for ageing people. The committee proposes giving more resources to this sector and providing support for its position as a form of education open to all citizens. The studia generalia sector and other general education provision for adults also holds an important position in improving the study skills and motivation of people with little basic education.The ageing and structural change of the workforce present a challenge to the labour administration and require rapid action. Presently, the level of employment of ageing persons is low, and there is a great deal of pressure for early retirement. The proportion of over 50-year olds in the workforce is growing, while the proportion of 25-49 year olds is declining. These structural changes in the workforce may result in significant financial costs if we are unable to turn the ageing of the population into an asset for Finnish working life. A particular challenge for the labour administration is re-employing those ageing workers that are currently unemployed.
Despite the inevitable changes in the age structure of the workforce in the near future, its effects have not been addressed clearly enough. Ageing workers themselves, or employers, do not necessarily understand the skills and strengths that accumulate with age and experience. The abilities of many ageing workers remain undiscovered due to attitudes founded on insufficient knowledge. It is important that the issue of age is addressed in workplaces when developing operations and when providing service in employment offices.
Through the National Program for Ageing Workers, the labour administration is striving to affect the development of service systems and working communities, as well as people’s attitudes, to ensure that the skills and strengths of ageing workers are taken advantage of in the workplace.
Renewal of employment services
The renewal of the employment policy system and the extension of investigations into the service needs of long-term unemployed ageing workers to cover the whole of Finland will aid in reaching the goals of the National Program for Ageing Workers. At employment offices, the customers’ strengths and skills, as well as education and need for re-integration into the work community, will be systematically assessed - regardless of age. Thus, when employment service is based on more reliable and comprehensive information, new ways will be discovered of preventing unemployed ageing workers from being disregarded, and of promoting their re-employment.
To bridge the deficit in education for the ageing, efforts will be made to develop practical, individualised training and educational experiments. For example, in an examination which includes a practical display of skills, workers can take advantage of the skills which have been acquired through age and experience. Training should include efforts to maintain and develop physical and psychological working ability. Labour force training and supported employment will be increasingly focused on the ageing.
Developing the working community
Currently, many work places have projects underway which aim to develop productivity and the quality of working life. The labour administration aims to highlight operating models that will help working communities to develop, and for this purpose will use various investigations, studies and seminars.
Flexible working hours and job-sharing
In addition to organising flexible working hours, the aim is to increase the use of systems that include alternating leave and part-time work. These provide ageing workers with time for gathering strength and self-improvement. At the same time, more job opportunities are created for the unemployed. In job/leave alternation, an employee who has been employed by the same employer for a minimum of one year takes a period of leave, and the employer takes an unemployed worker for that period. In the parttime system, an employee who has been employed by the same employer for a minimum of one year transfers to part-time work for a set period of time, and the employer hires an unemployed worker through the employment office for this period.
The skills and strengths of ageing workers have been neglected in many work places. The need for further education of ageing workers has also been given low priority. Employers are able to play an integral part in the more fruitful employment of ageing workers. Attempts will be made to show them that investing in ageing workers can be a profitable investment. Seminars are also being organised for different target groups, in which researched information regarding ageing and the strengths of ageing workers will be presented. The Ministry of Labour, together with the various players in the job market and the educational and research establishments, is also seeking good working practises. The success of the National Program for Ageing Workers depends on active co-operation which crosses administrative boundaries.
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
A significant part of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s projects and activities that are related to the National Program for Ageing Workers - particularly in the SME sector - emphasise occupational health and safety operations. In addition to the actual physical ability to work, operations also focus on promoting psychological stamina.
Maintenance of working ability
The "Tyky Operation" aims to maintain the ability to work. This is beneficial to both the employer and the employee. The new Tyky campaign addresses the questions raised by the "Tomorrow’s Working Ability" project. One of these is work weariness, and new facts available on it.
The scope, contents and results of Tyky operations will be monitored by the new Tyky barometer, a survey which will be started in 1998.
An extensive research and development operation will be started up, and an information resource, from which companies are able to access the latest research data, will be compiled as part of the National Program for Ageing Workers.
Training and reporting for employees in the occupational safety field, labour and trade centres and employment offices, will be made more effective. The objective is to increase knowledge about the effects of ageing, and at the same time promote the flow of information to all sizes of work places. The Occupational Health and Safety week, to be held in autumn 1998, will also emphasise the factor of ageing.
Occupational health services and Tyky
Occupational health services and Tyky services, particularly in the SME sector, will be developed. The research and development projects implemented for this purpose will benefit from information compiled on maintaining the ability to work and operate. The changes made to section 9 of the Act on occupational health and safety are an attempt to consider the needs of ageing workers, and the actions required to maintain the ability to work.
The various alternatives for decreasing the employer’s liability in disability pensions are being investigated. At the same time, the needs for reform in unemployment pensions and early retirement pensions are being examined. Changes which have already been implemented include decreasing the age limit of part-time pensions from 58 to 56 years in July 1998, the decision being valid until the year 2000.
[Top]