Businesses urged to meet challenges of age diversity

A member of the Assembly Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment has said: “businesses must act now to exploit the opportunities and meet the challenges ahead caused by population ageing."

Mr McClarty, a UUP MLA for East Londonderry, was speaking at a seminar in Parliament Buildings organised by the Northern Ireland Ageing Population Panel to highlight the economic implications of the growing Age Shift and the need for companies to adopt age diversity policies in the workplace.

He said: “The United Nations has identified that the ageing of the world’s population is one of the most important issues facing our future. Increased life expectancy and sharp falls in birth rates in recent years have lead to a rapid increase in the proportion of older people in the total population.

“The Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government acknowledges the importance of our own demographic shift. But action at Government level alone is not enough. We all have a role to play in anticipating change and avoiding the potential problems, not least the local business community.”

Mr McClarty said: "Most businesses are largely unaware of how the Age Shift will impact on their activities. Yet a number of sectors are already reporting difficulties in recruiting staff while large numbers of people over 45 are unemployed or economically inactive. Companies must consider how they might adjust recruitment practices and work patterns to attract and retain older employees. We simply cannot afford ageist attitudes.”

Ms Samantha Mercer, Campaigns Director for the Employers’ Forum on Age, outlined the business case for age diverse policies: “The business case for age diversity is plain common sense. As the workforce ages and contracts, skilled workers will increasingly come at a premium. Companies that fail to respond to this threat will put their future growth and profitability at risk, while missing out on the benefits of employing a mixed aged workforce.”

Dr James McKenna, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Ageing Population Panel, added that the initiative was about recognising that the older community has a significant and increasingly important contribution to make to economic development and prosperity.

The Northern Ireland Ageing Population Panel is an initiative developed under the UK Government’s Foresight Programme which seeks to bring together the knowledge and experience of business, academia, the voluntary sector and Government to examine issues that will influence life in Northern Ireland in the years up to 2020.

(SP)