Age diversity as a strength, not a challenge

Lessons from Central Baltic projects on supporting older workers

“Senior entrepreneurship isn’t just about economic output; it’s about belonging, participation, and activating the full spectrum of society’s capacity“
– Grethe Haugøy, Silver Entrepreneurs

Across the Central Baltic region, ageing populations are changing how labour markets work. More people are reaching retirement age, while many remain willing and able to continue working, learning or starting something new. This situation is widely recognised at EU level, where lifelong learning, active ageing and fair access to work for all ages are key policy goals.

Three projects that provide concrete examples of how these policy ideas have been tested in practice in the Central Baltic region are Silver Strategies, Silver Entrepreneurs and Silverskill. All three projects have now finished implementing and their results offer useful lessons for both policymakers, employers and funders.

The Silver Strategies project worked with companies in Estonia, Finland and Latvia. Its aim was to help employers better recognise the value of workers aged 55 and above. The project produced anti-discrimination measures, offered training for managers and HR staff, and produced a handbook with practical tools that companies could use after the project ended.

The Silver Entrepreneurs project focused on people aged 60+ who were interested in entrepreneurship. Through the Smart Seniors Academy training programme the project supported older adults in Latvia, Sweden and Finland in developing business ideas, building skills and gaining confidence to remain active through entrepreneurship. The project also worked with organisations that support senior entrepreneurship in the Central Baltic region.

The SILVERSKILL project developed the entrepreneurial and digital competences and green skills of seniors (50+), promoting their opportunities to enter the labour market in Estonia and Finland​. The training programme offered combined personal development, entrepreneurship, digital skills, communication, and mentoring.

From policy goals to workplace reality

One of the messages from the Silver Strategies project is that EU policy goals such as active ageing and lifelong learning only make a difference when they reach the everyday reality of workplaces. According to Project Manager Sintija Danenbergsone from Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, these concepts often remain abstract unless employers translate them into simple and concrete actions.

A key lesson for policymakers is the importance of encouraging employers to take a step back and “zoom out.” When they do so, many begin to see “older” employees not as a risk or a special category, but as a stable and highly valuable resource. Age inclusion, in this sense, is not a separate HR initiative but part of good management and long-term competitiveness.

“If employers take the first step and “zoom out”, they often realise that employees aged 55+ are a stable, highly valuable resource — and age inclusion is not a separate HR topic, but part of good management and long-term competitiveness.”

One of the findings of the Silver Strategies project is that age-friendly change does not necessarily require extra funding. The most easily adopted practice, according to Danenbergsone, is structured and respectful dialogue with older employees. This means actively listening, asking what kind of support is needed, and being open to adjusting tasks, schedules, learning formats or roles. Even small changes can have a strong impact when they are based on real needs.

The Silver Strategies project also highlighted internal barriers within organisations as something employers need to consider. A key challenge was attitudes from senior leadership. Without support from top management, age-friendly measures risk remaining “nice ideas” rather than becoming real action. The project addressed this by focusing on practical examples, peer learning and low-threshold ‘quick wins’ — such as mentoring arrangements, small job design adjustments and targeted learning approaches that demonstrate benefits early on.

What SILVERSKILL tells us about learning after 50

The SILVERSKILL project adds a strong learning perspective. According to project manager Marianne Kama from Tallinn University of Technology, the project demonstrated that people aged 50+ are motivated and capable of developing new skills when they are offered “a structured, safe and personalised learning environment”. Kama highlights that age itself should not be seen as a barrier and that policies should focus on enabling conditions that support skills development, rather than focusing on age-based assumptions.

“Age itself is not a barrier; rather, access to guidance, mentoring and opportunities for self-reflection determines whether experience and competence can be effectively utilised. Policies should therefore focus less on age-based assumptions and more on enabling conditions that support skills development“

The project confirmed the diversity of the 50+ group. Many participants initially approached digital tools and entrepreneurship with caution or low confidence. With targeted support and practical learning, however, confidence increased significantly and entrepreneurial competences came to be seen as a realistic pathway for continued economic activity.

Notably, the project did not identify major barriers in motivation or learning capacity. Instead, success depended largely on good pedagogical design, realistic pacing and clear links to real-life situations. Modules on self-assessment, competence recognition and core entrepreneurial skills proved especially easy to transfer because they rely mainly on strong facilitation rather than technical investment.

Kama recommends that future EU and national funding programmes emphasise flexible frameworks, longer timeframes and personalised mentoring, noting that well-designed, human-centred initiatives can translate EU lifelong learning and active ageing goals into concrete action.

Entrepreneurship as a later-life pathway

Insights from Silver Entrepreneurs, shared by the Swedish partner project manager Grethe Haugøy, show that many people over 60 want to remain economically active, especially if working conditions are flexible. At the same time, early retirement decisions are influenced by both personal and work-life factors, and for some, low pensions and rising living costs are a real driver.

The project found strong interest in entrepreneurship among older adults, though it is “not an easy alternative”. For many participants, the most favourable model was combining pension income with entrepreneurship, which lowers financial risk and allows flexibility around health or family responsibilities.

Participants joined for many reasons, from unemployment to curiosity to developing existing businesses, but quickly formed supportive peer communities. Confidence building depended heavily on the competence of trainers and coaches and on adult learning methods that built on participants’ own experience. Hands-on learning and work on participants’ own business ideas were particularly effective.

At the same time, structural obstacles remain. Participants often struggled to find clear information about rules and support schemes. Entrepreneurship support systems can unintentionally target younger people and appear too tech-heavy or poorly tailored to seniors. Limited digital skills and lack of visible entry points also create barriers.

“A lot of entrepreneurship support still unintentionally targets younger people, and that can make seniors feel out of place. Systems can be too tech-heavy or framed in language that doesn’t resonate. To change that, we should be more conscious in our communication, design multi-generational environments, and use formats that feel accessible and inviting.“

Silver Entrepreneurs also highlights a distinctive motivation: many older participants prioritised meaningful, green or socially oriented business ideas rather than high-profit growth models. As Haugøy notes, senior entrepreneurship is not only about economic output but also about “belonging, participation, and activating the full spectrum of society’s capacity.

Key takeaways

Across the Central Baltic region, the message from SILVERSKILL, Silver Entrepreneurs and Silver Strategies is clear: people aged 50+ are a growing and still underused resource for labour markets and regional economies. Awareness of demographic change is increasing, but practical age-inclusive measures are not yet applied consistently.

The projects show that targeted skills development, tailored entrepreneurship support and more strategic employer practices can improve older adults’ participation in the labour market. They also highlight the need for stronger policy alignment linking lifelong learning, active ageing and workforce development.

With Europe’s workforce continuing to age, the experiences from these projects underline a clear point: age diversity is not only a social objective, but an economic necessity.

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This article was written by Viola Mickos, Project Manager (Capitalisation of project results)