The age structure of the labour force in the EU member states is becoming increasingly unfavourable, and this trend will still continue during a couple of decades. The exit of ageing people from the labour market and their risk of permanent exclusion are some of the central reasons behind the high structural unemployment within the European Union. Therefore, it is important to develop measures to help ageing people stay at work and cope with it until their pensionable age.

Last year, Finland launched a National Programme on Ageing Workers, which will continue until the year 2002. The Programme aims to ensure that more unemployed ageing people than before can be re-employed, and that those who still participate in working life can continue to work until their pensionable age. In particular, the Programme aims at improving the opportunities of people aged over 45 to get work and to cope in working life.

There is no single remedy to prevent age discrimination. That is why the Programme on Ageing Workers aims at finding means to improve the vocational skills and working capacity of both unemployed and employed people in the middle of increasingly rapid changes. At the same time, the Programme endeavours to change the attitudes of employers, employees and decision-makers: ageing is not only a weakness – it can also be a strength, if people’s experience gained with years is put to good use both in work and in learning new things.

One of the campaigns included in the Programme on Ageing Workers concerns maintaining of working capacity, which is one of the most crucial elements of coping in working life. Maintaining of working capacity is not restricted to people’s physical and mental health only – it also includes improvement of working conditions and the functionality of working communities from multiple aspects. Successful measures to maintain working capacity improves individuals’ well-being, the atmosphere of working communities and the productivity of work. As a result, firms can improve their competitiveness and Finns can live better.

According to a barometer of working capacity published last year, a large part of Finnish employees are covered by activities to maintain working capacity, but such activities have not yet become sufficiently established in the everyday working life. Attention has been paid, inter alia, to safety at work, functionality of working premises, planning and quality of work as well as cooperation and participation. The objectives of work have been clarified and the work of superiors has been developed. Employees, in turn, have been trained for improved skills and supported for the promotion of their physical and mental health.

Those who answered the questions of the barometer believed that the activities to maintain working capacity were profitable and improved the working atmosphere as well as the staff’s physical condition and work satisfaction. The maintaining of working capacity is considered a good investment, and it is also expected to bring economic profit.

The results of the barometer encourage continued maintaining of working capacity. In future, the needs for development in workplaces will be examined, and the content of the measures will be tailor-made for each workplace.