Last Updated on Wednesday, 9 October, 2024 at 1:12 pm by Andre Camilleri
A National Round Table Forum organised by the Malta Employers Association on Wednesday tackled the issue of an aging population as well as the demographic shift of the workforce towards older employees.
Addressing the event, MEA President Joanne Bondin said that an aging workforce and the skill shortage spanning the whole economy are issues of “paramount importance” and that the promotion of senior employment is not only a necessity but a strategic advantage since it can decrease the need for foreign labour which is “not sustainable”.
She said that “silver jobs” are “central” to this strategy and the experience of the aging workforce accumulated over years cannot be wasted but injected into businesses to retain knowledge.
Bondin said that as a country an “adaptive approach” must be taken to address the demographic shift of the workforce and that government initiatives must be enforced to ensure long-term success. She concluded by saying that the aging population is not a “challenge to be overcome”; rather, an opportunity that should be embraced since it can lead to a more stable and inclusive labour market with a thriving workforce despite demographic changes.
Director General of the MEA Kevin J. Borg stressed that the aging population is not “just another research topic” but a “pressing issue that demands our direct attention” with action being necessary and urgent. He said that the ultimate goal of the round table conference was to share ideas for lasting and workable solutions for the aging Maltese population to shape the future of the labour market that may then be put into one document.
Borg said that early retirement must be discouraged before clarifying the MEA’s stance on the promotion of work past the retirement age, stressing that it proposes this on a voluntary basis. He said that this may be done through the promotion of part-time ‘silver jobs’ facilitated by job-sharing and telecom accommodations.
Borg said that apart from tax incentives for ‘silver jobs’, current “fiscal anomalies” must be “ironed out” as they are discouraging to the workers. He said awareness must be raised on the importance of ‘silver jobs’ as well as the promotion of life-long learning so that older workers will not feel “irrelevant to their younger colleagues”.
On the other hand, Borg gave importance to the workplace conditions for employees bolstered by employer incentives for an ergonomic workplace since it was found that older workers tend to retire earlier due to physical conditions caused by poor ergonomics.
JobsPlus CEO Celia Falzon said that though Malta has a higher life expectancy than the rest of the EU, the Maltese work-age bracket is lower than the EU average chiefly due to the traditional disparity between the genders, with fewer female workers, since they are only recently joining the labour market, meaning that attention must be paid to future findings.
Falzon said agreed with Borg’s view on the raising of awareness pointing out that an open call for the Mentorship Programme at JobsPlus remains with only one mentor available. She said that JobsPlus offers tax deductions and subsidies for employers who take older workers on board, as well as free training services to keep up life-long learning.
Falzon said the MEA’s proposals must be “delved into further” and noted that the market must make use of what is already available and make it more accessible. She pointed out that a change in culture is “crucial”, stressing that persons around 50 years of age are not “useless” due to the perception of that changing jobs is difficult, meaning that they are anxious that they will not find new employment. She added that the health of the workforce must be given importance “from day 1” since it will eventually lead to a healthier older workforce.
Identita’ CEO Steve Agius echoed Borg’s sentiment on local workforce planning and stressed that the approach to the workforce cannot be “one size fits all”. He said that entities must collaborate more for example, through data-sharing to make workforce forecasts especially in the construction sector. He added that those sectors requiring a skill set need most attention and stressed the use of models in policy-making to steer towards evidence-based decision making.
Galea said that despite the 65 years retirement age, if people are strong enough, the elderly should still be allowed to work, adding that employers should be pleased to have such experience in their business that can be passed on in practice to the younger workers. He added that he cannot see employers “saying no” to older workers.
Keith Bartolo from the OPM pointed out the responsibility of employers to respect the wish of employees who wish to retire and help them transition to a new, healthy life outside the workforce. He also pointed out that older employees have additional issues to their younger counterparts, chiefly care-giving despite free childcare and active aging services.
