Pioneering perspective: New flow for 55-plussers in the region

Why do we mainly invest in younger people when it comes to development? Klaske Veth - lecturer in Leadership & Sustainable Work at the Hanzehogeschool - emphasizes that workers of all ages are energized by development activities. And because we desperately need the growing number of 55+ colleagues in the tight labor market, the incentive program Baanbrekend Perspectief is a sustainable gift for the region.

In our society, we have been shouting for some time that lifelong learning is important. Yet when it comes to development, companies focus mainly on younger people. In her research, Klaske discovered that, on average, investment in workers stops at the age of 38. That is three decades (!) before retirement age. 'While development-oriented activities at all ages contribute to engagement, vitality, health and flexibility,' the lecturer knows. 'And stimulating development can be done in many more ways than just training: from lunch presentations and peer review groups to new tasks, changing roles or a look at other departments or companies. What works best varies from person to person. That is why we at Baanbrekend Perspectief encourage participants to take control of their own careers. Of course, it helps enormously if employers give them room and opportunity to do so.

The incentive program launched last year appears to be a good run-up to sustainable employability. 'Even exhausted participants start to see new perspectives again,' says Klaske. If you challenge people to take the initiative in an appropriate way, things start moving. Even people in their fifties and sixties still have plenty of potential for development. Our brain is neuroplastic and when stimulated enough, it keeps renewing itself. At most, the pace and ease with which you learn something new change.' In her book, Klaske calls that fluid intelligence, a form that declines as we age. On the other hand, crystallized intelligence advances with age: this includes associative and verbal ability, dealing with stress, listening skills, evaluation of experience and mechanical knowledge. People who remain challenged reach the peak of crystallized intelligence only around seventy years of age or older!

'Still young or already a bit older: the challenge is always to make use of everyone's strengths in their work,' says the lecturer. 'In the second half of their careers, people have other valuable skills to add, but they have to be given the opportunity. If some older workers are gradually assigned less challenging tasks, or are taken for granted, they will start to behave accordingly. Realize that every person needs encouragement from time to time: a good conversation, a workshop, a compliment, a new task or different role. Keep asking questions about what interests people and what they still want to grow in. Suppose someone is curious about AI, give them room to discover more about it. And involve older employees in the organization, because they sometimes see better what remains and how it can be done differently. Those are all opportunities for growth.

Klaske emphasizes that sustainable employability is in everyone's interest: for workers themselves as well as for companies. 'Indeed, our entire region benefits if we continue to develop and deploy the available potential as well as possible. That is why I am proud that here in the North we are leading the way with programs such as Baanbrekend Perspectief and Healthy Ageing. There are still many prejudices about older workers to be overturned, but people over 55 are now fortunate enough to have a tight labor market. They are desperately needed, which is why employers are more willing to continue investing in this group. That provides a boost. At the same time, it's important to pay close attention to what works in the process, because the second half of a career really requires something different than the first half. The strength of Baanbrekend Perspectief therefore lies in the combination of practice and research into career development for people over 55.'

'What we would like to break through are the limiting beliefs about aging,' indicates the lecturer. 'How you look at age is more determining than the actual number. Factors such as life stage, degree of health, how long you have been with an organization and how long you have held a particular position also affect how you are in work. This differs for each individual and is independent of calendar age. Gaining insight into your own situation and discovering where you are headed: that is where the profit lies for the second half of your career. Because that is where the energy can be found that is needed to keep developing and to be sustainably employable. With Baanbrekend Perspectief we stimulate people over 55 in that process and offer employers, managers and HR professionals tools to keep stimulating the growing group of older employees. Because we all need a growth mindset to add vital years to the careers of working people.

Do you value being a good employer and do you think it is important that your employees remain motivated and continue to use their knowledge and skills in your company after the age of 55? Then give employees in need of new perspective the opportunity to participate in this regional program in 2025 free of charge. A new round will start after the summer and you can register via BaanbrekendPerspectief.nl.

Experience shows that the training courses give participants new energy and job satisfaction. Baanbrekend Perspectief is a pick-me-up that breaks routines and increases commitment and productivity. Thus, knowledge and experience are retained or even better utilized for the company, while absenteeism and outflow are reduced.

So far, 75 employees from 12 different organizations have participated, including knowledge and educational institutions, the social domain and health care. People from SMEs are also welcome, and for a spread of sectors, Baanbrekend Perspectief is still specifically looking for participants who work in the technology or energy sector.

The program also involves employers, managers and HR professionals. By combining practice and scientific research, they can directly share in the new insights that are emerging in career development for people over 55. The validated tools and interventions developed within Baanbrekend Perspectief are intended to stimulate regional knowledge building and increase sustainable employability in the Northern Netherlands.