Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

system of further vocational training, equal access given to workers of all ages and
professions, and tailoring training pace and content to the needs of (older) workers are the
distinguishing features of ´good practice´ in age management. It is also important to provide
training continuously (instead of ad hoc and according to demand of workers´ request) and
not to restrict it solely to demands of the concrete workplace (Frerichs 2007: 69).
Of the 17 Polish firms in my sample, only four include settlements on training policy as
part of the general Company Agreement (rather than as a distinct collective agreement on
training issues with more elaborate regulations, as is the case in Germany) and other two as
part of an outplacement agreement or a social plan. The regulations were of general nature
(e.g. the instalment of appraisal interviews or the setting up of a qualification plan for all
workers) and did not include issues related to the age of the workforce.
I collected little data on whether the access to qualification measures was equal for all
workers. Only in four firms did I learn that both older and younger workers equally profited
from further training. Restrained access to further training was given to older workers in
five other firms; the restrictions were justified by firm experts on grounds of too high costs
given the shorter depreciation period, perceived low learning motivation of older workers,
or too high average age of the workforce and its already high level of know-how. In a
chemical company, workers have to sign a declaration that they will stay on the job for at
least three years after the training. In the other firms, the two interviewed parties either
made contradictory assessments of the state of further training in the firm, or equal access
was given in theory but factual assessment was not possible due to the shortage of workers
above the age of 54.
A typical situation when further training becomes pertinent is the entry of a foreign
investor or owner. Often, a mismatch between the qualification of older incumbent workers
and the demands of the workplaces becomes visible. Two possible choices of firm action
are conceivable as a solution:
1) The firm externalises older workers and recruits young, adequately educated
younger persons instead;
2) The firm provides re-training to those older workers and retains them – and thus,
solves the problem in an ´internalising´ way.
An example of the first type of action – and thus, a ´bad practice´ example – is a
chemicals company and a transportation equipment company. In Firm PL-13, further
179