Older workers’ employability is a Human Resource Development responsibility

By Silvia DELLO RUSSO

Together with a group of international colleagues from the 5C Collaborative (www.5c.careers), I studied employability, defined as an individual’s perception of being able to find alternative jobs in the external labor market. I have studied this subject with particular attention to older workers, as individuals are forced to work longer in their lives; paradoxically, however, as they age, they face great discrimination when seeking or re-employment. We conducted a survey in 30 countries and collected responses from over 9,000 people employed in managerial or professional jobs. By analyzing this data, we were able to show that older workers perceive a disadvantage in terms of external employability, but that having experienced development activities throughout their career mitigates this situation.