I do not have the answer to that broad question. To echo what my colleague has just said, the pressing needs and problems of older workers are not currently being addressed. In my opinion, all workers really need is to be able to go through their careers with the mindset of lifelong training. Lifelong training does not just happen when workers are 20, 30 or 40. Lifelong training means training people of all ages, including those who are 50 and 60.
I go back to the issue of stereotypes. It is easy to say that older workers do not have any knowledge of new technologies. But if they are never trained in those new technologies, the stereotype becomes entrenched. A vision that training has to be lifelong is the first step to preventing older workers from being left by the wayside, with training that is obsolete in comparison to what their younger colleagues are receiving.
By contrast, there are excellent organizations that remain committed to keeping older workers on the job. Why does the government not consider supporting the good ideas and practices of companies who really are the models when it comes to keeping older workers employed?
Knowing that many organizations in Canada are actually committed to the added value that older workers contribute, why not use them as models in order to demonstrate their good practices and implant them in the public consciousness and discourse about keeping older workers employed?