BALTIC SEA LABOUR FORUM

Around about 120 participants came together in Riga from 16-17 September 2014 to discuss “Employment for the Future: How should the Baltic Sea Region respond to ageing workforces?”.The experts addressed with their speeches both the macroeconomic and the organisational level. Dr. Jörg Peschner, Seconded National Expert at the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, hold a presentation about ageing workforce and its consequences for the European Union member states. He stressed that EU employment growth will turn negative already by 2030 therefore the EU policy shall promote activation policies and measures to accelerate productivity growth (e.g. by tapping unexploited resources such as women, young people, migrants, senior workers etc.). The diverse labour market potentials were also mentioned by Dr. Andrea Hammermann from Cologne Institute for Economic Research: “Labour market of the future is not only ageing and shrinking, it is also getting more diverse. We have to think about a labour market which will be a little bit more female, there will be more migrant workers, and therefore, there will be more heterogeneity in demands which both companies and employees have to think about in order to find flexible solutions”. Prof. Dr. Mirko Sporket, University of Applied Science in Münster (Germany), addressed the organizational level and introduced the concept of “demographic literacy” which shall help companies to gather and evaluate the crucial “demographic information” and to develop actions in order to overcome challenges such as labour shortages. The conference participants shared good practices of employers and trade unions and identified needs for further transnational cooperation. Nine exhibition stands offered information about practical age management experiences. The visitors had the chance to talk to company representatives and partners of the Best Agers Lighthouses project. The scientific and practical findings of the project fed into recommendations for Social Partners and Policy-Makers as well as for Employers. Read the full conference report here and download the presentations and recommendations: www.best-agers-lighthouses.eu