Page 19 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan

2.4 Demographics
Mid-year population estimates indicate that approximately 207,284 people are living in Mid Wales, with 691,961 living in the four counties of South West Wales. Both economic areas have an ageing population with the proportion of the population aged 65+ having increased by 5% and 2.8% in Mid and South West Wales respectively between 2002 and 2015. In addition, the proportion of the population aged between 0 and 15 has decreased in both economic regions over the same time period.8
The Ageing Workforce
The data above highlights the demographic challenges being faced, however, there remain significant economic opportunities through greater utilisation of older workers. Research undertaken by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) through its ‘golden age index’ shows that the UK is ranked 18th of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries for its opportunities for and performance of its older workers. It also highlighted that if the employment rates for workers aged over 55 were to increase to those of Sweden then UK GDP could be around 5.8% higher, which is equivalent to around £105 billion at 2014 values.9 Improving the utilisation of older workers is a critical element to solving the region’s productivity challenge.
Evidence within the report highlights that there are a number of ways in which integration of older workers can be enhanced, including phased retirement approaches as well as expanding training programmes to include older workers such as reverse mentoring.
Barriers to improving the participation and productivity of older workers may include workplace limitations such as equipment or accessibility, inflexible workplace practices or potential benefit barriers. A common perception relating to the employment of older workers is that it can cause the displacement of younger workers with companies and restrict the development and progression opportunities.
Engaging the Younger Workforce
Engaging young people both new to and within the workforce is an important challenge in developing the future labour market within the region and to ensure that individuals are being utilised to their full potential. Evidence from the PWC young workers index highlights that the UK scored below the OECD average between 2006 and 2015 and that the UK has the highest youth unemployment relative to unemployment rates of older workers out of all 35 OECD countries, which can in part be attributed to a high overall employment rate.
There is evidence to suggest that young people are having difficulty entering the labour market which highlights that ‘the UK has relatively high rates of part-time work for 15-24 year olds. While this may be preferable for some workers, it is likely to adversely affect earnings, training opportunities, career development, and job security.’10
8 http://rlp.infobasecymru.net/IAS/themes/economy/labourmarketintelligence/people%e2%80%93demographics, employment,unemploymentandeconomicinactivity/tabular?viewId=1977&geoId=1&subsetId=42
9 PWC Golden Age Index – Jun 2016
10 PWC Young Workers Index – Oct 2016
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Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales Policy Context