As Austria’s workforce ages and digitalisation reshapes industries, businesses must adapt to ensure that workers of all ages can thrive. Demographic Consulting Digi+ is helping companies meet this challenge by providing free consulting services to create age-diverse and digitalised workplaces.

Funded by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy, this initiative of strategic importance supports businesses in building resilience to demographic and technological change. The goal is to maintain the employability of older workers while fostering work environments that benefit employees of all ages.

Demographic Consulting Digi+ helps businesses rethink work design, leadership, personnel management, skills development, and workplace health and use digitalisation as a tool to create sustainable, age-friendly workplaces.

One company that has already seen the benefits is Geislinger GmbH, a highly specialised industrial business: ‘Demographic Consulting helped us tackle labour shortages and retain valuable experience by supporting older employees and improving knowledge sharing,’ says Benjamin Geislinger, Product Manager.

Age-friendly recruitment strategies that work

Recruiting and retaining skilled workers is a challenge across many sectors, particularly in healthcare. To address this, a nursing company collaborated with Demographic Consulting Digi+ to develop generation-sensitive job advertisements and an online application system. These measures aimed to make the hiring process more inclusive, ensuring that applicants of all ages were considered.

The results were immediate. Within just one week, the company attracted seven outstanding applicants. Evelyn Theisl, Deputy Director of Nursing, was surprised by the effectiveness of the approach: ‘We never expected that using the new recruitment measures developed with Demographic Consulting Digi+ would bring us seven outstanding applicants in just one week! So they do exist – applicants in the nursing sector!’

Two of these applicants have already been hired, including one worker aged 45+, proving that age-sensitive recruitment can make a difference.

Scaling up support across Austria

By the end of 2027, the project aims to support 930 companies in Austria, ensuring that businesses across sectors can benefit from its expertise. With ESF+ funding making this initiative possible, the project is helping companies future-proof their workforces and improve employment opportunities for older workers.

For businesses, workers, and the Austrian economy, Demographic Consulting Digi+ is proving that investing in age-diverse and digital workplaces is an investment in a sustainable future.