Official concern about the failure of 48 per cent of Irish workers to enter an occupational pension scheme has had at least one good effect. It has helped to awaken interest in the issue of retirement, the rights of older people to continue in employment and the opportunities open to them to do so. Indeed, as we enter the New Year, the job options for over-65s are perhaps the brightest for many years. This is not merely due to the economy's insatiable need for labour. It arises also from a number of official position papers on the need for constant upskilling and lifelong learning. There is also a recognition by more employers that older workers have much to contribute. Governments across Europe, too, have obvious fiscal reasons for encouraging citizens to work beyond traditional retirement dates.
The elderly will need support, however, if they are to remain in, or return to, the labour market. A National Economic and Social Forum report in 2003 outlined that only a small minority of employers had structures to cope with an ageing workforce. The need for the encouragement of lifelong learning was stressed, an issue that emerged again last year in the Enterprise Strategy Group Report. The National Competitiveness Council's Competitiveness Challenge 2005 also emphasised that greater participation in lifelong learning should be encouraged.
Workers have a declining tendency to continue in education and training as they get older. This has to be reversed to ensure that those who want to work are not just offered poorly-paid service industry jobs. Other barriers to the employment of older workers must be addressed, among them a perhaps undue emphasis on formal qualifications, inflexible hours and, for some, the youth culture which exists in many workplaces.
Employment for older people is not just an economic issue. There is a social dimension in that all adults should have a right to participate, a constant refrain from the ageing and disability lobbies. Last March, the Lidl supermarket chain was ordered by the Equality Tribunal to stop demanding that job applicants state their birth date on application forms. This was another dent in a culture that can measure job worthiness by age.
The possibility of a higher income in later years for those who opt to work and defer their pension should be promoted. The gains are not only to the economy but also to a group of people who can be kept on the periphery of economic activity in spite of the endeavours of organisations such as Age Action Ireland and the Equality Authority. The issue here is one of choice: those who want to remain in the workplace should have an option to do so.