$43m to keep oldies working

THE Federal Government has unveiled a $43.3 million package to encourage greying Australians to stay in the workforce longer to share their skills as mentors and trainers.

THE Federal Government has unveiled a $43.3 million package to encourage greying Australians to stay in the workforce longer to share their skills as mentors and trainers.

The Productive Ageing Package is in response to Treasury's third Intergeneration Report which has been launched today in Canberra.

The 164-page report warns of the challenges of Australia's rapidly ageing population.

Strategies and policies to combat the demographic timebomb will form part of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's re-election strategy this year.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has announced the productivity package for mature aged workers, which he says will ``harness the tremendous skills and experience of older Australians''.

It includes funding for the Golden Gurus program which was pitched by Queenslander Ernie Peralta, The Courier-Mail's delegate at the 2020 summit.

``The Productivity Ageing Package will help us tackle the economic challenges of an ageing population by helping retain the expertise of older Australians in the workforce and transfer it to younger Australians,'' he said.

Mr Swan said the measures included 2000 training packages for employers to allow eligible mature age workers to retrain as supervisors or trainers or young apprentices.

It also includes 50 funding grants for Golden Gurus organisations to connect mature age people who are retired or semi-retired with employers of trade apprentices.

`This package provides practical support to older Australians who want to stay in the workforce by investing in quality job training for mature jobseekers and supporting mature workers mentoring young Australians,'' Mr Swan said.

He said if the Federal Government could improve the projected participation rates for Australians aged between 50 and 69 by five percentage points, then real Gross Domestic Productive would be 2.4 per cent or $2,500 higher per year.

The Intergenerational report, ``Australia to 2050: future challenges'' provides a comprehensive study of the challenges Australia faces over the next 40 years when its population is projected to explode to 36 million, up from 22 million today.

About one in four workers in 2050 will be aged over 65.

This includes pressures on the health system and the environment.

The Government plans to establish a Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation to advise it on further measures to help mature age workers.