BETTER JOB MATCHING
To unlock the full potential of the elderly market, boosting their employment rate is essential, said observers.
“Most of them demand for a more flexible contract, more flexible work arrangement, like working part time, working just a few hours per day and also accommodating to that lifestyle,” said Dicky Chow, head of healthcare and social innovation at think-tank Our Hong Kong Foundation.
“So we do believe that this kind of flexible work arrangement has to be put in place to improve the employment rate of elderly, to tap into their potential and boost their silver economy.”
He emphasised the importance of better job matching by first understanding the skills older adults possess, and then aligning those skills with suitable job opportunities — not just restricting them to low-skilled roles.
Another key challenge lies in the lack of targeted efforts by businesses to tap the growing potential of the elderly consumer market.
“A lot of times, you can understand that the business owners are very much wanting to be focused on direct returns,” said Jasmine Lee, managing partner at EY Hong Kong and Macau.
“So they’ve been very good at creating products and earning money from the millennials or the Z generation, from the younger people.”
However, she noted that companies need to take a closer look at the preferences of people in Hong Kong, especially older citizens.
“For some of our corporations, they really have to look into what the Hong Kong people are actually needing, what they want,” she added.
Source: CNA
