York College: WorkAge

There are many people who leave work early either because of a disability, long-term health condition or some sort of caring responsibility which impacts on their ability to work or the type of work they can do.

A lack of flexibility granted by employers can exacerbate this trend. In order to address this issue and extend and maintain working lives, evidence suggests it is most effective to work with both the individual employee and the employer, adopting an early intervention model.

Early intervention has worked successfully in retaining disabled workers and those with mental health issues; however it has not been applied to older workers.

York College is working with employers to diagnose and improve how they manage older workers as they approach retirement. Using diagnostic tools, planning tools and skills development techniques, consultants work with the organisation and older employees in order to identify their skills and strengths and look for opportunities for personal development within the organisation.

The service helps employers support older workers to plan and improve both their working lives and their retirement. It enables older workers to work better, for longer than they otherwise might have done. This is beneficial for employers as it enables them to retain older workers and manage employees to retain their productivity as they age.