The Future of Work: Candidates Weigh In On Colorado's Older Workforce

What do you do when #Aging and #Ageism are absent from election year conversations?

Well, you do what a group of us in Colorado did: Hold our own candidate forums.

In September and October, we hosted five virtual forums covering different parts of the state, inviting candidates seeking to represent the area in the Colorado senate and house, as well as voters.

A prerequisite for participating in the candidate forums? Filling out our candidate questionnaire, which asked questions about issues affecting older Coloradans like caregiving and support for Area Agencies on Aging. And we asked them to apply an #intergenerational lens to issues like housing that affect all of us.

A question of particular interest to me:

Older Coloradans comprise the fastest growing segment of our workforce. Yet, many face challenges finding meaningful employment due to issues such as workplace age discrimination and a lack of opportunities for upskilling and reskilling. What steps would you take to ensure older workers have the opportunities and resources to enhance their financial security for retirement and contribute to Colorado’s economy?

Some key themes emerged:

1. Some understand the business case for older workers, and more employer education is needed.

Some candidate responses reflected a growing awareness of that Colorado's businesses and economy need older workers. Older employees were described as bringing "reliability, life experience, and strong work ethic to the workplace." One candidate specifically said:

Retaining experienced and talented employees is an asset for businesses, and finding ways to make training and education affordable and accessible will benefit not only employees but also business owners.

And one candidate acknowledge the elephant in the room, i.e., that not all employers understand the real benefit of older workers and intergenerational teams, saying:

We need to change the perception that employers have about older workers.

2. Candidates acknowledged that workplace age discrimination is real, and some recommended employer incentives.

Most candidates identified age discrimination as a challenge for older workers. Specific solutions mentioned included:

• Stronger legal protections (we've already worked in Colorado to do just that)
• Incentivizing employers to hire older workers
• Regulating algorithm usage in job applications

One candidate suggested that "simplifying and reducing regulatory burdens" for businesses would encourage businesses to hire older workers.

3. Candidates expressed strong support for upskilling and reskilling older workers for the future of work.

Almost all candidates who responded to the survey expressed some degree of support for ensuring that older Coloradans have access to ongoing training to be fully prepared for the future of work. Specific ideas mentioned included:

• Using our schools and universities to offer free training in fields profitable to Colorado businesses
• Enhancing financial support for professional certifications and continuing education
• Investing in digital equity programs
• Expand access to training in fields that are in high demand and that are experiencing labor shortages, like healthcare and education

One candidate specifically tied retraining to the state's economic future, stating:

I think it’s important to ensure that older workers are included in the transition to clean energy economies. We must prioritize retraining those who have worked in non-renewable energy industries so they can continue to participate in the workforce in the coming years.

4. We need to know more.

As this group of aging advocates has previously noted, existing data collection efforts are inadequate to fully paint the picture of the older workforce in Colorado. One legislator, who has previously worked with us to sponsor a bill that would remedy that, noted the importance of truly understanding older workers' experiences and the tools and resources needed for workforce reentry or career changes.

This is something we'll be working on this coming legislative season.

5. Want to learn more? Find out about responses to other questions?

Thanks to my friends at Next50 who compiled all the responses, you can find out how your own candidates responded by going to their website, or to the Colorado Center for Aging 's website.

The Coalition

This spring, when I was at the American Society on Aging conference, where many presentations involved Coloradans, I was frequently asked:

What is it about Colorado anyway?

And my response is—we have a group of people who very much care and pay attention to issues affecting older Coloradans, who listen to the grassroots and who are willing to work together. I'm so proud to be part of the coalition who put these forums together. By focusing current and aspiring legislator attention on these issues, and letting them know that older Coloradans care about this stuff, we make more headway when the legislature is in session.

So a huge thank you to all those who planned and executed this, as well as the many local sponsors and partners.

@ Janine Vanderburg, 2024

As CEO of Encore Roadmap and co-founder of Changing the Narrative, a leading anti-ageism initiative , Janine brings over three decades of experience leading social and organizational change initiatives to her current work speaking, writing and consulting with businesses, media and brands on how they can become more age-inclusive, leverage the skills of older workers, and help intergenerational teams succeed.

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