MANILA -- Asian countries should invest on education and training programs that will enhance the employment prospects of retirees and other senior citizens who are still willing to work.
Increasing human capital will help address the challenge of aging societies in the region, according to panelists at an Asian Development Bank (ADB) -sponsored seminar on "Tapping Technology To Maximize Longevity Demand in Asia" held Thursday.
Yumiko Murakami, head of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-Tokyo Center, stressed that training programs for elderly and low-skilled workers will help provide them sustainable living in a world which depends greatly on technological innovation.
“Companies are hesitant to hire elderly people for employment. This is very counterproductive. Instead, what companies and countries should do is they should help the elderly people to become more employable. For instance, European countries such as Germany and Ireland have launched programs whereby subsidies are given to companies to promote training specifically targeting seniors and lower-skilled workers so that they can further develop their skills. Their programs have been every effective,” Murakami said.
Furthermore, governments should provide certifications to workers that will enable them to enhance their employability.
“What happens today is technology has been developing so fast. Your degree in college by the time you are 35, it might not be so useful. Governments should provide certifications to older workers so that they can go to potential companies and employers and show them what they have in terms of credentials which can be more relevant and updated in today’s technology-dependent environment,” according to Murakami.
For her part, Norma Mansor, Director of Social Security Research Center of University of Malaya, urged governments and other sectors of society to increase their investments on telecommunications infrastructure in order to address the technological gap in various countries across Asia.
She likewise urged the implementation of active labor market policies such as employment subsidies, programs that will address jobs-skills mismatch, among others, in order that vulnerable sectors of society will enable to have gainful employment.
“Countries should also ensure portability of benefits such as insurance, pensions and savings for retirement. Governments should ensure that people will be able to retire with dignity,” according to Mansor.
Meanwhile, Koichi Narasaki, group chief digital officer of Japanese-based insurance company Sompo Holdings, said artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IOT) and voice assistant technologies have the potential to address the problem of aging population in the world.
“Technology has been beneficial to productivity and longer life expectancy,” Narasaki said.
He said that their company has been utilizing robotics and AI technologies on their insurance business. “These technologies can automate your typical routine work and you can be more creative.”
The seminar discussed how aging societies can explore and harness the potential of new technology, national policy and regional collaboration options to reap the benefits of longevity.
A recent report of the ADB said that starting from 2020 to 2050, the senior population aged 65 and above in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to double from 9.2 percent to 18 percent.
Low mortality and fertility rates are major contributors to longer life expectancy and increases in the share of seniors in the populations of countries across the region.
The ADB urges countries in Asia to promote technological innovation and adoption through sufficient funding of research and development activities along with the development of human capital and resources in targeted sectors and industries. (PNA)
