Observatory Home Economy Environment Planning Skills & Learning Public Health Culture Gloucestershire
Intelligence West Wilts & Swindon Somerset Dorset Devon Cornwall

Age and Employability: the challenge for the South West

Duration: 17 January 2005 to 11 February 2005

SLIM's ninth Learning Theme has now finished. It looked at the issues surrounding age and employability. The policy world is currently preoccupied with talk of the ageing society, the pensions crisis and the fact that we’ll all have to work longer. Those are the headlines, and they are stark enough, but underlying these is a real sense that we need to grab the nettle and start to tackle some of the issues faced by older people in seeking and retaining employment and being productive in the workplace. Many barriers stand in their way and only a holistic response will do. Like no other, this is an issue where prejudice and misinformation reign. Cultural change is needed so that the contributions of older workers are recognised and valued. That of course never happens quickly, but there are some very practical things that we can do to start to overcome these barriers. The Marchmont Observatory/SLIM has, in partnership with other key players, successfully bid for an Equal project which will look at this issue.

The Report and Exec Summary are now available to download.

Final Report: PDF
Exec Summary: PDF

During this Theme we:

Identified successful models for staff development and training: and
Identified successful strategies to build capacity for staff development in the workplace, FE, Probation, Prisons, Jobcentre Plus and voluntary sector settings

THEME ACTIVITIES
SLIM Learning Themes bring practitioners, researchers and policy makers together face to face and on-line to exchange ideas, practice and details of what works, where and why. During Theme SLIM researchers:

identify, summarise and contextualise research for participants

interview policy makers

identify projects demonstrating good practice and write these up as case studies and

facilitate an on-line discussion

Resources are highlighted during an on-line discussion and will made available through our website at www.swslim.org.uk.

This Theme culminated in a workshop bringing together participants to reflect on the findings and discussion and to develop recommendations for our Final Report. This will be distributed widely in the region and fed back to the FRESA Inspiring Individuals Group who have prompted the Theme.

Resources have been highlighted via the on-line discussion and made available through the buttons on this page.

Research briefs, summarising our research and findings are also available.

For further information please email swslim@exeter.ac.uk