Biography
Ioana Caciula is psychologist, with a Master degree in developmental psychology at University Paris 10 Nanterre-La Defense, France, and currently is PhD candidate at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, with a research theme on old age. She initiated the first study on elder abuse in Eastern Europe – “Recognition of elder abuse by older people and home caregivers in Romania” (‚International psychogeriatrics’, 2010). She takes part in various conferences in the psycho-geriatrics field and is working in European projects focused on older population participation in community life, improving practices in elder abuse prevention, Alzheimer dementia management, and public policies implementation with respect to aging.
Caciula, I.
Paper
BETTER WORK IN OLD AGE – SUPPORTING OLDER WORKERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT IN COPING WITH AGE TRANSITIONS AND WORK REQUIREMENTS
The impact of demographic ageing (populations aged 65 years and over is estimated to increase in Europe from 16% (2010) to 25.6% by 2040, according to Eurostat) on employment in Europe is widely recognized as one of the main challenges facing the EU. In addition to pension reforms, the European Commission has recommended to the member States to raise participation of older workers, to promote access to training and stimulating lifelong learning to avoid skills obsolescence for older workers, and to improve working conditions to provide an attractive, safe and adaptable work environment throughout working life. Moreover, ageism is a current issue on the labor market, and older workers are facing low self-esteem, low work motivation, reduced training opportunities, unemployment challenges and early retirement options.
The BeOLD project, with a 2 years duration (2017-2019) is financed by the EC from the Erasmus + Programme, and aims to update skills and to support older workers for a better adaptation at work place and for an enhanced employability and to engage employers in support measures for older workers, resulting an inclusive society and labor market:
The target groups that will be addressed in the project are:
– older workers (55+ years old) from private companies
– HR managers/managers/coordinators of private companies from different sectors (industry, cooperatives, services etc.)
The project partnership includes organizations from Romania, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain, having an extensive and complementary expertise in adult education and training, research, development of new training methodologies, public policies development. Together we will develop a vocational counseling methodology for older workers using different active and innovative learning methods, to update their skills and to face age transitions, and a training program for companies management, in order to combat ageism at workplace, promote age management strategies and foster intergenerational learning and mentorate. Outputs include a E+Book regarding older workers situation analysis (needs, support measures, legislation etc.), a Handbook ‘BETTER WORK IN OLD AGE’ that will provide guidance to trainers for delivering the five workshops to the end-users. The results of piloting of the two educational programs developed within this project will be A Report will offer all information about the piloting of the educational programs and the lessons learned from participants experiences and feedback. A Guide with Recommendations for Public Policy for Supporting Older Workers will also be elaborated, as a basis for national and European policies on the issue.