Age Management: Work Adapted to Age Phases / AgeWISE

National Project

Age Management: Work Adapted to Age Phases / AgeWISE

Title: Age Management: Work Adapted to Age Phases

Beneficiary of the Project: Alliance of Sector Councils

Duration of the Project: Project is implemented from 1 May 2025 for a period of 44 months.

Financial Allocation: 12 938 940 €

Project is co-financed from the funds of European Union in the framework of Program Slovakia.

Project Objectives

The aim of the project is to set conditions for introducing age management into the corporate culture of companies in all sectors of the economy, including conditions for keeping older people in employment, as well as by setting up measures for the use of flexible forms of work for parents of young children and people with informal caregiving responsibilities.

Outputs

The main output of the Project will be sectoral models for the implementation of age management principles. These will be based on the actual results from the measurement of the Work Ability Index, the collection of data on the use of age management tools in individual sectors of national economy, as well as on surveys of barriers to labour market participation for people with parental responsibilities and persons with informal care responsibilities. The configured sectoral models will be available to all employers.

Another output of the project will be creation of a permanent advisory base for employers. After completion of the project, each of the sector councils will have available a well-trained expert (sectoral specialist) on the subject, who will be able to provide employers with qualified consultations, record examples of good practice and ensure their transfer within the sector, as well as between sectors.

Finally, the output of the project will be an analysis of the legislative framework and proposals for its possible changes. The project will ensure that employers, employees, and relevant national policymakers give this issue the attention it requires in the future.

Partneri

Data collection

Data collection is carried out at the level of the individual respondents in total number of 15,600 people. Of these, 6,000 must be aged 50 years, or older. The allocation of respondents to the various economic sectors is set according to the weight of the sector and ensuring the representativeness of the measured sample. The survey will be conducted in 24 economic sectors represented by the Sector Councils established by the Alliance of Sector Councils. In addition to these sectors, a survey will cover also the 25th group consisting of people outside the labour market who are bound by informal caregiving obligations.

Furthermore, data collection will also be carried out among employers. The total number of employers is set at a minimum of 1,000 entities.

Data evaluation

The results of the Work Ability Index (WAI) measurement will be processed into the so-called Situation reports on the state of work ability of employees in individual sectors of the economy (24 sectoral situation reports). In a separate situation report, the results of the measuring of the work ability of a group of people out of the labour market will be compiled to provide data on the problems related to their integration into the labour market. All 25 reports will be jointly evaluated and processed into a summary report on the state of the working capacity of employees in the Slovak economy.

From the data obtained from employers and the data of the third part of the questionnaire survey (supplementary questions), 24 situation reports on the status and scope of implementation of age management by individual sectors will be prepared. The data obtained from the third part of the questionnaire survey will be an input that considers the view of employees in the development of an applied model for the introduction of flexible forms of work in the individual sectors of the economy.

The situation reports will be discussed and approved by the Sector Councils.

Sectoral models for the implementation of age management principles

Using the findings of the sectoral Situation reports on the state of work ability of employees and the sectoral Age management implementation situation reports, sample age management models will be developed for a typical enterprise in the respective sector (in total 24), including examples of good practice for each model.

Sectoral models must reflect the specific conditions of work and the working environment common to the sector. The configured sectoral models will be available to all employers. Based on the evaluated data, it is feasible to analyse and design sectoral trajectories for the transfer of workforce to the other sectors where conditions are more suitable for such workers and where their work and life experience could be utilised.

Permanent advisory base for employers

The project will establish a methodological centre of the Alliance of Sector Councils – 24 specialists for the implementation of the principles of age management in the sectors. After completion of the project, each of the sector councils must have a well-trained expert (sectoral specialist) on the subject, who will be able to provide employers with qualified consultations, record examples of good practice and ensure their transfer within the sector, as well as between sectors. At the level of the Alliance of Sector Councils, an institutional base with trained experts will thus be created, which can continuously address the issue not only at the sectoral level, but also as a strategic partner in this area for the national government.

The training of sectoral specialists is carried out almost throughout the entire implementation period of the project. It is based on an analysis of the training needs of sectoral specialists for age management and reflects their future roles in applying age management principles in the sector. The on-the-job training of age management specialists includes the development of a methodology for the implementation of age management.

Proposals for necessary legislative amendments

Based on the findings resulting from situation reports (especially at the national level), international experience and examples of good practice, the proposals for necessary modifications in the Slovak legislative framework will be formulate. These measures can range from relatively simple, individual ones, such as gradual retirement, the implementation of the obligation to detect the level of the Work Ability Index when performing occupational health service activities for older employees, the removal of barriers to the employment of older employees (e.g. in the Civil Service Act), up to proposals for more complex interventions. In the latter case, this could include, for example, proposals to extend the scope of collective bargaining to include the implementation of age management principles, or even to amend labour legislation to incorporate selected age management measures as compulsory obligations for employers. To this end, monitoring of foreign studies, collecting examples of good practice, indexing information and searching for possible approaches are being carried out throughout the duration of the project.