According to a new CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) research report, employers across Europe should educate their workforce in order to value older workers for their performance in the job.

The reports states that the UK Government and employers urgently need to respond to the challenges and opportunities of demographic change, and employers need to offer appropriate and attractive employment propositions that enhance opportunities to remain in the labour force for longer.

CIPD’s report explores employer practice towards older workers across five European countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany and the UK. It found that those in the group age 40+ and 50+ face the greatest care demands, but are also key to the labour force due to their experience. The CIPD is warning that the economy cannot afford to lose them, so it is up to employers to create attractive working situations, which take into account these external responsibilities, and enable people to stay in work.

The study showed that by 2030, the number of people in the UK aged 65 and over will have increased by 50% and the number of people over the age of 85 will have doubled. CIPD says that longer lives mean longer working lives: the workforce is in a rapid state of change, and organisations must adapt their policies and strategies to accommodate it.

“This is one of the biggest shifts affecting the workplace today, and the impact will only increase in the years to come,” Rachel Suff, the CIPD’s employment relations adviser and author of the report, said. “HR is at the heart of this business challenge.”

According to the research, the UK workforce is continuing to experience significant drop-off rates in employment from the mid-50s onwards. However, the research suggests a pressing business case is developing for people remaining in work for longer.

“There is still a conscious bias and stereotyping around older workers, and employers need a more holistic and strategic response,” said Baroness Ros Altmann, minister of state for pensions in the UK.

“There is a huge untapped labour pool among older workers,” Suff said. “Our research shows a large number of workers feel they can benefit from staying in work for longer, in terms of social interaction and financial wellbeing.

A functional older workforce will be reliant on reskilling older workers and providing recruitment opportunities so they can re-enter the workforce.

“When workers reach a certain age in Denmark, they have a discussion about aspirations and expectations for their working future,” Suff said. “They enable a dialogue throughout their lives so older workers don’t feel singled out when they hit a certain age.”

“Managers will have to cater for individual issues, such as support for older women going through the menopause, and develop ways in which people can have caring responsibilities and still work.”Altmann said.

Altmann also dismissed concerns that investing in older workers would result in a shift away from millennial recruitment as a ‘myth’.

“The idea that there is a fixed number of jobs in any economy is just not accurate,” Altmann said.”

“The business case for why this matters is about access to talent in the workforce, and making sure it serves organisations,” CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese said. “There are terrible existing age biases in business, across the age spectrum and different sectors, particularly when organisations are downsizing. This is not a uniform challenge, and it must be addressed.”