Industry restructuring and job loss: towards a guiding model to assist the displaced older worker

With industry restructuring and closure, many displaced older workers need major supports and interventions to find a new job. The completion of 52 interviews with displaced older workers, and with those supporting them in retraining and employment, identified evidence-based practices across multiple industry sectors that might lead to more successful reskilling, training and job outcomes. Three types of reskilling interventions were identified: large firm and supplier programmes, open access programmes and customised initiatives.

Overall, older workers preferred training that was more experiential, practical, less formal and accelerated. They sought to fill skill gaps that allowed them to be more competitive for jobs especially in local employment. Access to training resources for workers in small-to-medium-sized enterprises was more difficult than for those from larger firms which were supported by well-funded government and industry interventions. To guide future research and practice, a preliminary framework is offered that defines a number of key features of successful interventions. Top-priority actions identified are early engagement to connect older workers to support services; one-on-one planning sessions to ensure the workers' needs drive the assistance provided; age-appropriate, customised and time-effective training; job search and job interview preparation assistance; and activities that facilitate direct contact with potential new employers in local communities.

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