Civil Euro Perspective David Jepson THE AGEING POPULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; OLDER PEOPLE AND ENTERPRISE; OLDERPRENEURS!

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1 Civil Euro Perspective David Jepson THE AGEING POPULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; OLDER PEOPLE AND ENTERPRISE; OLDERPRENEURS!

2 CIVIL EURO PERSPECTIVE Activities Employment and economic development consultancy and support of community value in the U.K, EU member states and beyond. Potential - resources Civil Euro Perspective is a small not for profit community interest company based in the UK. We foresee our role as facilitator working with partners from local and regional level within Eurada and elsewhere. We would estimate that the budget for the activities outlined would be around euro but this can be revised Previous experience We are members of a UK working group involving the Institute of Directors and stakeholders from local and regional level looking to set up a Centre for Older Entrepreneurs We are working with Ashley Community Housing on employment and business support for refugees and migrants working with OECD, Committee of the Regions and other partners. David Jepson has 25 years of experience of working on local economic development projects across the EU and beyond and is a member of the senior expert panel of Eurada. In 2014 prepared a paper and held a workshop on the topic of the impact of the ageing population on economic development Have also engaged with Age Platform Europe, Business in the Community and and other bodies at EU and national level Role Specialist advice and expert support, sub contract role within wider consortium, help with bid preparation, formation of a wider EU network

3 BACKGROUND, AGEING POPULATION AND THE ECONOMY Ageing population will have wide range of impacts on economic development Markets for new goods and services, not just medical aids but tourism, leisure, financial services, IT etc Impact on labour market and HRD as older people work for longer some through choice and others through necessity Differential spatial impact as cities become younger and coastal / rural areas younger See: The Growing European Silver Economy, Background Paper, European Commission, February 2015; The regional socio-economic impact of the ageing population, EURADA scoping paper, June 2014, Ageing, the Silver Lining, UK Local Government Association, 2015

4 OLDER PEOPLE AND ENTERPRISE Older people are working for longer into old age Some out of choice and others from necessity Motives can include income generation, overcoming isolation, motivation and life style Routes can include continuation of current employment, part time working, new maybe less demanding employment, home working, volunteering and self employment, micro employment, small business Older people engaged in enterprise is an important trend which needs more recognition and focus from public policy makers at local / regional, national and EU levels. For example more than one million over 65s now in employment in UK, in Germany the number of over 60s in work went up by 160% in 20 years. In Poland employment rate for the age group has increased substantially, from 36% in 2003 to 55% in 2013.

5 OLDERPRENEURS! OLDER PEOPLE AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT Title: Olderpreneurs! Older people and enterprise Idea: Many older people are now engaged in setting up enterprises some via choice others from necessity. This includes extensions of professional life (accountants, lawyers), lifestyle businesses (hotels, cafes), businesses linked to hobbies (photography, pet care) and linked to the need to generate income from capital (property rental) Olderpreneurs can be a major driver of economic development at local and regional level if properly assessed and with appropriate support. It will also reduce impact of social benefits and lead to healthier lifestyles as foreseen in the EU Covenant on Ageing Need for focus on small number of businesses with high growth potential But also need to focus on marginal forms of self / micro enterprise which generate modest but important income and also offer significant benefits in terms of health and well being. Include older people in excluded / less advantaged communities. Important to explore, map and capture the non economic benefits of enterprise activity through overcoming isolation, social contact, health and well being Consider needs of older people made redundant from large employers (public and private)

6 ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS Activities Mapping, identifications of the major barriers to older people succeeding in business review the role of RDAs / support agencies in this context and creating a network of olderpreneurs across several member states. Use of Information technology is a major part of this context. Older people often have a lower up take of and access to different IT tools. We will also focus on how use of IT by older people running businesses can be enhanced even in small scale ways. Making enterprise activity more simple especially for small scale activities easy pathways in terms of business set up, legal formats, taxation, basic business plan. Looking at inter generational support, older people have finance, networks, knowledge, younger people may have skills, ideas and energy Results Better understanding of the scale of older peoples businesses and the barriers they face Economic but also social, health and well being benefits. Review and modification of business support tools by RDAs / business support bodies Assessment of packages of IT support, mentoring and training aimed at older enterpreneurs (for example, on line banking, regulation and taxes, marketing and promotion, social media) Establishment of a network of olderpreneurs for peer to peer support in relation to business development, advocacy and share of good practice.

7 PARTNERS SOUGHT Existing consortia Have had general interest expressed on this topic from development bodies in Spain, Italy, Poland, Greece and UK Also contacts beyond the EU, for example in the US Potential partners Development agencies, business support organisations from EU member states, to act as partners, lead partner or to include this action as a strand within a wider project.

8 David Jepson Civil Euro Perspective THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!