Demographic change, particularly workforce ageing, will affect all of Europe in a substantive way and over a short period of time, according to this first White Paper from the new Adecco Institute.

However, it says, EU companies have great potential to improve their readiness to cope with the change by sharpening their "demographic fitness".

The study found that few firms provide a sufficiently broad range of career management tools and few employees make use of those available.
It found that companies offer continuous education but only half of employees use these. It also found that companies treat all age groups equally, and most do little to promote a dynamic culture of mutual esteem, mentorship and skill transfers.

The study concludes that an ageing workforce is here to stay and will prove both a challenge and an opportunity. The far future of business in Europe will belong to those companies that seize the challenge, it says.