Job opportunities for people aged 50+ were discussed at a career forum that brought together the views of experts and representatives of institutions, business and the NGO sector. The event “50 reasons more” was opened by the President of the Economic and Social Council Zornitsa Rusinova and the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Lazar Lazarov. The forum was organised by Young Talents Bulgaria – the first national platform for employing and training mature professionals and encouraging companies to recognise their experience and expertise.
Mature people with experience can be an extremely valuable resource for the development of the economy and society, as well as for the labor market, which is no secret that suffers from a lack of personnel, said the chairman of ESC.
“The discussion about people over 50 who are at a different stage in their career path is extremely important. The key to longevity is both physical health and mental health, and one of the main prerequisites for this is being active. All research shows that a long active working life leads to longevity. This topic is increasingly important to members of ESC – employer, union and civic organizations. The challenges are many and await targeted measures,” said Zornitsa Rusinova, who presented ESC ‘s work on related topics in a number of analyses and opinions.
One example is the Council’s in-depth analysis of the demographic picture in Bulgaria, which recommends specific measures aimed at people over 50 and their realisation on the labour market. These relate to specific incentives that the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Employment Agency can provide in terms of working people and employers, but also to infrastructure, health, social inclusion, education, lifelong learning and vocational qualifications, which are key to the continuous development of skills.
In March, ESC also adopted a Work-Life Balance Analysis, a topic that concerns not only mothers and young people, but also those in advanced careers.
“These are people who have built up their experience and their demands for work-life balance are higher. We give recommendations for the transposition of European legislation on flexible working, but also many examples we have collected from Bulgarian companies and experiences that can be used. The aim is to achieve better inclusion of employees 50+ through good work-life balance practices”, said the President of ESC.
The realisation of mature professionals in the labour market will be the subject of research and recommendations in another interesting analysis to be developed by ESC. It is expected to be the only institutional document on the topic of generational differences in the workplace.
“We hope that after this analysis there will be a more targeted national policy because statistics show that this year 25% of the workforce in Europe is from generation Z. Their behaviour at work and their expectations are very different from our generation. How to reconcile different approaches at work, what they should be in terms of behavioural patterns and stereotypes in different age groups are extremely important issues,” Rusinova added. Their answers depend on the possibility to keep good professionals on the labour market, but also to give people a chance to have better career development, better income and to balance their personal and professional life.
PHOTOS: Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
