be a major tool in meeting the manpower needs of a community on a rational basis. Also, it would permit the redesigning of some jobs to make better use of the productive skills of the older worker and also permit clearer identification of training and retraining needs in individual companies or industries. 6. Expansion of Part-Time Employment Opportunities for Older Persons In a majority of workshops, there was substantial support that increased job opportunities could and should be developed for older persons in the field of part-time employment. It was felt that a strong emphasis in this area alone could generate many additional job opportunities for older persons, especially those in or nearing retirement. This expansion was seen as possible in the service and sales trades, in household services, and in the fields of health, education, and recreation. As an example, it was held that training older persons for jobs of lesser skills in several fields of professional services could release professionals in these fields of certain nominal duties and allow them to use their full time on their professional duties and tasks. A specific suggestion was for training and employing older persons for part-time work in services needed by many older people themselves such as homemaker services, home health aides, nursing home aides, or recreation and crafts instructors. Another suggestion was part-time employment that would preserve the trades and skills of the past, but at the same time, meet a growing consumer demand for custom-made products. This objective of increased part-time employment opportunities was related as appropriate to such possible factors as a possible shorter workweek or weekday in future years. This goal was based on the recognition that many persons either economically or psychologically need to work even after normal retirement; as a possible part of a planned program of "phased retirement"; and the increasing demands for personal, health, education, recreation, and welfare services by California's rapidly expanding population. Among measures proposed to stimulate such a program in California were legislation and financing of a special project within the State Employment Service to specifically develop part-time employment opportunities for persons 60 and over; grants to nonprofit agencies to discover and develop part-time jobs in private business and industry, government, and educational institutions; reduction of unemployment insurance and other payroll taxes on employers hiring part-time workers aged 50 and over; and establishment by the State Employment Service of a statewide clearing house for part-time jobs to be made available to all interested communities and organizations. 7. Attitudes Towards and About Retirement Certain workshops directly related some of the pressures for employment by many older workers to the concerns of many about financial security, personal adjustment, and purpose in retirement. There was agreement that often such concerns were valid in view of the growing use of fixed retirement and the lack of more flexible policies other than those based on chronological age alone for determining the time of retirement. There was an accompanying opinion that these pressures could be lessened if policies were developed that permitted a gradual transition from work to retirement, accompanied by a systematic program of retirement planning, education, and counseling about the various aspects of retirement. A basic point made was that retirement must include adequate financial security and be made more attractive by creating for the retiree a role and place in his community. The opinion was expressed that proper planning and support of both preretirement preparation and suitable post-retirement activities should be more broadly encouraged than it is now by employers, labor, and government. It was felt that a basic responsibility in this area rested with the State's adult education system, and one workshop proposed that the Legislature request the State Department of Education to undertake the development of curricula that would meet this need, and that courses developed as a result be implemented at the earliest date in cooperation with local adult education programs and other key groups at the state and community levels. 8. Community Support and Organization Virtually every workshop felt that community support or understanding was vital to any specific solution to the expansion of employment opportunities for older persons. Considerable concern was expressed regarding the lack of an adequate community organization at the local level which could serve to mobilize community support and understanding. The proposal was made that such an organization should consist primarily of members drawn from employers, labor, public and private employment services, older persons themselves, and those involved in training programs. A specific recommendation was that a position should be established within the Employment Service which could exclusively function to organize such community committees and work cooperatively with them in encouraging improved programs of education, infomation, and job developments for older persons. 9. Other Proposals and Suggestions Many other specific proposals and suggestions were weighed in individual workshops. Several are related to the areas already described, including consideration of the possible transfer of basis of protection in Workmen's Compensation from private carriers to a state administered fund; that job retraining programs should be a main subject of negotiation in collective bargaining; that the problem of older adults who withdraw from job retraining programs be the subject of intensive study to ascertain the actual reasons for withdrawal; that the present upper-age limits in apprenticeship training be eliminated, where and when possible; that a "manpower obsolescence" allowance be established, and with such an allowance, companies involved provide training and retraining of the present work force; and that Legislature strongly affirm their support of the principle that all persons 65 and over, who are able and want to work, be permitted that opportunity. |