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AN AGELESS WORKFORCE SYMPOSIUM

‘An Ageless Workforce – Opportunities for Business’ Symposium will be held in Sydney at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour on 27 August 2003. The Symposium is being organised by the National Seniors Association, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other business representatives with support from the Office for an Ageing Australia. Other relevant Commonwealth Departments are supportive of the Symposium.

The target audience for the Symposium is Chief Executives and other leaders of major businesses from across Australia. The objective is to raise the awareness of the business community about the labour market impacts of demographic change and how current employment practices can affect the participation of workers as they age.

An impressive line up of speakers has been arranged. The Minister for Ageing, the Hon Kevin Andrews MP, will open the Symposium. Mr John Denton, Chair of the Business Council of Australia’s Population Task Force, will set the scene for the Symposium. Dr Philip Taylor, the Executive Director of the Cambridge University Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Ageing, will provide a global perspective. Chris Richardson, a Director at Access Economics, and Peter Hendy, CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will lead industry panels on ‘The Australian Business Perspective’ and ‘Industry Trends, Challenges and Opportunities’.

An ABS spokesperson, Alan Mackay (Assistant Statistician, Health and Community Statistics Branch), will present a statistical summary of mature age workers, encompassing changes in participation rates by age over time, structural shifts in the labour force, retirement intentions, labour mobility and labour force experience issues. The presentation will use examples of individual industries to illustrate the current situation and how it has changed over time.

Following the Symposium, the key papers will be made available on the website of the Department of Health and Ageing.