SCOTLAND’S “grey” workforce is growing and increasingly significant. With 287,000 more over-50s working now than in 2000, it is a startlingly rapid change.
As The Herald launches an in-depth series of articles looking at the questions and implications surrounding Scotland’s ageing population, it is important to remember this is in many ways a success story.
More of us are remaining healthy, active and productive later in life than ever before. This is due too many factors – such as better health care, fewer people working in risky professions and more of us giving up or cutting down on bad lifestyle habits.
READ MORE: New figures reveal over-50s are the fastest growing part of workforce
The figures on older employees are a timely reminder the ageing of population is not all bad news. It is easy to forget that, with regular talk of a “demographic timebomb” and dire warnings of increased numbers of dementia sufferers and fewer people of working age to pay for their care.
In fact, older workers are a much more significant sector of the workforce than the EU migrants who are the focus of so much Brexit- related concern. And employers like older workers – they can be more reliable, less likely to move away and often need less training than their younger counterparts.
By turning a spotlight in this series on the significant changes in Scotland’s age profile, we will look at ways in which the opportunities it offers can be grasped. Might employers make more use of older workers as mentors for younger colleagues, in areas such as appearance, time keeping and work ethics? Is more training needed for those considering second careers in their twilight years? And what will be the effect on volunteering – heavily dependent on the over-65s – if more of us work for longer?
Away from the workplace there are plainly more significant challenges. The huge potential gulf in our collective pension provision, for one, and the funding of health and social care. While problems such as the cost of care, increasing numbers of people with dementia, and delayed discharges blocking hospital beds are recognised, they are far from resolved.
Often good intentions are not being realised on the ground, such as the Government’s pledge of a year’s post-diagnostic support for dementia sufferers. And while care workers who look after the most vulnerable elderly Scots can now demand a living wage, that will be little use if dozens of care homes are forced to close due to underfunding – a risk we also report on today.
Meanwhile, an ageing population affects other public services such as police and prisons and is forcing planners to rethink the way they design public spaces and seeing imaginative responses in the arts.
Through our Grey Matters series, The Herald aims to provoke a debate about our collective future.
READ MORE: New figures reveal over-50s are the fastest growing part of workforce
None of these questions exist in isolation. Immigration, in particular is key to balancing the pressures caused by an ageing population. And the significant constitutional decisions facing the country are directly relevant. Whether or not Scotland is in the UK, or the EU, will have a major impact on the nature and pace of the demographic challenges ahead and the ageing population should be a key part of the debate.
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