Europe is facing a demographic crisis, but the EU Commission is trying to find ways to re-integrate older people into the labour market and create new opportunities. Euronews has aired the episode "Real Economy" to discuss these issues.

Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of the EU Commission, DG Employment says: "I think we live in a situation where we have a lot of challenges linked to the technological developments and the population ageing both in general and also the workforce,"

With Europe’s ageing population seeing a decrease in fertility, mortality rate and a higher life expectancy, ESF continues to provide the necessary job support across Europe. The median age of the EU is set to rise by almost 4 years, reaching nearly 47 years old in 2050. Andreas Matsas, General Secretary, The Cyprus Workers' Confederation, stated: "People over 50 normally are not the target group approached for the majority of employers, workers are not able to change their main skills that’s why we emphasise training and retraining to make those people able to re-enter the labour market".

 

This can have a lasting effect on the economy. With European countries varying on how they adapt to new technologies, divergence will continue to increase. Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Christopher Pissarides says, "For example, if you look at various studies that were done on how ready European countries are to take on the new technology, there is a huge gap between the north and the south."

 

Pissarides further states that the future of technology is something we must be careful with, ensuring that we have the infrastructure for the application of digital technologies throughout Europe and do not leave it entirely in national hands.

 

Read the full article on Europe’s demographic crisis: How to get older workers back into the labour market.