According to a study carried out by recruitment agency Manpower, only eight percent of Swedish employers have a strategy to retain older workers.

The corresponding figure in Japan is 83 percent. Sweden comes in at the very bottom of Manpower’s ranking, alongside Italy and Poland.

And when it comes to recruiting workers over 50, only four percent of Swedish companies have a strategy in place, putting them second to last globally, beating only Poland.

At the top of the list is Singapore, where almost every other company has plan laid out for attracting and hiring older workers. Hong Kong and other Asian countries are also at the forefront.

One of the explanation are said to be cultural differences between the countries.

“But above all, in counties like Japan, where there is an ageing population, one must make use of the the older generations,” said Hans Makander of Manpower to news agency TT.

According to Makander, Swedes concentrate too much on younger workers.

“But the older generation is needed to move the young into the work place in a good way,” he said.

When Manpower did the same survey five years ago the results were almost identical, although the problem with the coming mass retirement is well known, said Makander.

The study was based on answers from 30,000 employers in 28 counties. The Swedish part of the survey was based on answers from 771 employers.

TT/The Local/rm