association nationalepour la formation professionnelledes adultes

The situation of ageing workers in FrancePrésentationErland Marcer CEDEFOP European seminar on older workers - Köln 12/05/2013

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The current situation of ageing workers (1)

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• Over the last 30 years, the employment rate among people in the 55 to 64

age group declined strongly in France, due mainly to the collapse of

employment rate among men, while that of women has increased slightly

• Reasons of this collapse:• reduction of the age of retirement (full pension) to 60 in 1982• widespread of early retirement during the 80’ and the 90’ for major

industrial rationalisation operations, particularly among the less qualified workforce and employees in the private and publicly owned companies

• the reluctance of companies to hire people over the age of 50

• Between 2008 and 2011, only 55% of older workers went directly from

employment to retirement. The others experienced periods of

unemployment, in many cases long-term, at the end of their career

The current situation of ageing workers (2)

• Working conditions are slightly better for older workers, due to a high

rate of early retirement among those working under adverse conditions,

particularly in Industry, transport and construction sectors

• In spite of adaptation of workstations, the staff turnover rates due to

physical incapacity are higher

• Recruitment of older workers decreased during the 15 last years. In the

services sector, older workers are hired for their long working

experience or their specific skills, while in Industry, they are often hired

because no young people applied

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The main barriers to older workers employability

• From the late 1970s, at the time of massive unemployment amongst the whole active

population, governments have implemented several measures to reduce the size of

their workforce, through mechanisms of early retirement and pensions disability

(“culture of early retirement”)

• A low legal retirement age (62 years in 2014), compared to other European countries

• The cost of the labour force affects the chances to keep one’s job over 45

• A less flexible labour market in France, due to the reinforcement of the employment

protection, with a small part dedicated to part-time work for older workers

• Weaker employment rates among older workers, due to a weaker educational level and

to weaker in-house training

• Exclusion of social partners in negotiations at company level, as regards older workers

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The main concerns regarding ageing workers employability and employment

• In France, among the employers, there is a perception that older workers are reluctant to adapt to change and to new technologies Theye are also seen as more expensive than youger workers, and employers have concerns about their health and geographic or professional mobility

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10 years of employment policies for older workers in France

• The most important measures intended to keep older workers in employment:– restriction of early retirement from the public sector– the 2003 pension reform, which encourages older workers to stay in employment in

order to qualify for a higher pension– from 2005 to 2014, several measures intended to raise public awareness, keep

older workers in employment, ease their transition between work and retirement, make easier for older workers to return to the labour market, and strengthen social dialogue on the employment of older workers

– increase of taxes on companies that made use of early and compulsory retirement– the liberalisation of systems allowing simultaneous employment and retirement– the increase of the compulsory retirement age from 65 to70– Since 2009, the progressive abolition of the exemption from job-hunting (in order to

qualify for an unemployment allowance), previously enjoyed by older workers

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Measures undertaken since 2005 (1)

• In October 2005, a National inter professional Agreement (ANI), involving all social partners, relating to employment of seniors and supporting their continuation in and return to employment•In June 2006, France launched a National 4 years Action Plan to promote the employment of older workers:

• national campaign aiming to fight against discrimination based on age• taxation of early retirement and redundancy payments• promotion of combined employment-retirement and gradual

retirement• increased pensions for those who continue to work when they are

entitled to take their pensions• companies with more than 300 employees are subject to 3 year

obligation to negotiate on the forecast employment and skills management, with a focus on the status of their seniors

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Measures undertaken since 2005 (2)• In 2008, this policy has been further intensified, with the 2008 law on

funding social welfare which stated the obligation for companies with 50 or more employees to conclude agreements on the employment of older workers, aiming at maintaining employment for workers of at least 55 years and recruiting workers of 50 years or older

• These agreements included 6 areas: Recruitment of older workers Anticipation of career development Improvement of working conditions and risk prevention Skill development and access to training Facilitating the work-to-retirement transition Knowledge and skill transfer, development of tutoring programmes

• Specific mobilization of the National Employment Agency (ANPE): personalised monthly follow-up, help to job search for senior job seekers, targeted prospecting of companies likely to recruit seniors, mobilisation of job seekers’ clubs…

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Measures undertaken since 2005 (3)

• In case of non compliance with the law, companies can be charged a fee

of 1% of their aggregate wage costs

• By the end of 2010, 80% of all employees in companies of 50 or more

employees were covered by an agreement on the employment of older

workers

• The most important topics of these agreements are: skill development

and access to training (75%), facilitating the work-to-retirement transition

(65%), knowledge and skill transfer (63%)

• Improving of working conditions and risk prevention (53%) and

recruitment (38%) are the least frequent topics of negotiation

• Only 9% of the agreements cover the 6 areas, because of the low

involvement of trade unions and employers9

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Impact of these measures on ageing workers employment• In spite of some of the measures falling short of expectations,

the result of these measures in public policy has been a constant increase in the activity rate for people aged 55-59 and 60-64, in particular for women

• In 2012,the overall activity rate for the 55-59 age group was of 67% (63% in Europe, 66% in OECD area)

• On the other hand, economic activity (activity rate) for those between 60 and 64 years of age is the lowest in EU 15 (17,9% in 2010), probably due to the legal retirement age at 60

• In conclusion, the measures taken are not really sufficient at this stage to cope with an ageing workforce

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A major consequence: the rise of the activity rate of older workers since 2000

Some other positive consequences

• 74% of all workplaces with older workers report that these employees possess key skills, and 17% of them fear the loss of those key skills once older employees leave

• 36% of the workplaces use the « age pyramid » as an important tool to manage age transition

• Age management plans increase the likelihood of on-the-job training and mentoring for older workers

• 37% of the workplaces carry out training for their older workers, particularly among the ones with 250 employees or more

• About 10% of them carry out accreditation of non-formal learning / of prior experience and learning (VAE) for their older workers

• According to their size, 12% to 37% use skill assessment (competences portfolio), aiming at defining the future career developments over the age of 45 or 50

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The generation contract (1)

• A core initiative (adopted on March 18th, 2013) aiming at combating high levels of unemployment among the youngest and oldest workers

• The goal is to combine job-creation for young people aged between 16 and 25 (particularly those under qualified), with the drive to keep older workers aged 57 and over in active employment

• Part of the initiative is a scheme to encourage older workers to help train young entrants to the labour market

• The contract aims at ensuring the integration of young people into the labour market and stabilizing their job status through contracts with indefinite terms

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The generation contract (2)

• Financial aid to companies with 50 to 300 employees, provided for a

three-year period, e.g. 4000 €/year for each generation contract

(relating to a couple young/senior) concluded, divided in 2000 €/year

for each young people aged 16 to 25 years hired on an indefinite

contract and 2000 € for each senior employee aged 57 and over

maintained in his job until retirement age

• For larger companies (more than 300 employees), no financial aid has

been defined, in order to prevent a ‘deadweight’ effect. Larger firms

might even be subject to financial sanctions – equivalent to 1% of the

overall company payroll – if they did not put a generation contract

agreement in place by September 30, 2013

• Objective: setting-up of 500 000 contacts from 2013 to 201714

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AFPA’s commitment towards ageing workers

• During the last 10 years, AFPA has been committed towards ageing workers,

in order to meet the requirements of the Government and of the social

partners

• AFPA intervened in coaching, skill appraisal and vocational training of ageing

workers

• In the framework of the Generation contract, AFPA helps finding solutions for

older workers through:• diagnosis of the needs expressed by companies, as regards the

professional mobility of their ageing workforce• skill assessment with prospect to a definition of their second part of career• design of professional paths and training programmes for the young and

the seniors• mentor training

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AFPA’s main activities

Afpa supports diverse audiences• Trainer training• Skills development for employees• Training for specific target groups (disabled

workers, prisoners…)• Training for hard-to-place workers with little or no qualifications

Afpa deploys a wide range of skills• Instructional design (creating learning programmes, structures and systems for vocational training)• Pre-selection of trainees• Training for target groups• Skills recognition• Knowledge transfer• Training for trainers/mentors• Job transition support from HR• Certification

Afpa provides training for more than 300 professions

in the following sectors• Building• Industry• B-to-B and B-to-C services• Transport

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AFPA stands for

€ 810 million in turnover

9,000 employees

More than 100,000 hours of instructional design mobilised each year

65 Million hours of training dispensed

150,000 people trained every year in more than 300 professions

81.5 % of all trainees obtain a diploma or certificate at the end of their training

Afpa is a non-profit organization

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