Counselling Mature Employees (Workshop/Certificate Courses)

Rationale/Aims

In 2010, 37% of the resident population in Singapore are 45 years or older (Census of Singapore, 2010). Corresponding to this number, there is now a significant proportion of mature persons in employment. Moreover, with the enactment of the re-employment legislation in 2012, where employers are required to re-employ older persons aged 62, until the age of 65 (and subsequently to 67), there is an urgent need to equip management and employers with the necessary skills to counsel and optimise the strengths and experience of mature employees to ensure business sustainability.

The aim of the certificate programme is to equip management staff with the requisite knowledge and understanding of mature employees, as well as the key competencies to counsel mature employees on an array of issues, with a special focus on re-employment and pre-retirement counselling. This programme can also be abbreviated to meet the specific requirements of companies e.g. companies which like to focus only on re-employment counselling.

Target Participants

  • Managers, supervisors of mature employees and human resource personnel

Course Objectives

  • To enhance participants’ knowledge and understanding of mature employees
  • To strengthen participants’ abilities to harness and optimize the strengths of mature employees
  • To equip participants with essential counselling, assessment, intervention and referral skills to offer pre-retirement and/or re-employment counselling, as well as counsel mature employees on a range of issues experienced by them in the workplace

Course Outlines

Part A: Understanding Mature Employees

  • Developmental issues and concerns of mature employees
  • Age-associated physical and psychological changes
  • Health maintenance & coping

Part B: Counselling Mature Employees

  • Definition and objectives of counselling
  • Common pitfalls in counselling
  • Self-awareness & sensitivity
  • Values clarification
  • Qualities of a good counsellor
  • Process & principles for counselling mature employees
  • Attending & active listening skills
  • Interviewing skills
  • Micro-skills

Part C: An Indigenous, Evidence-based Model for Counselling Older Adults (Key Feature of this Programme)

This model was developed through a three-year research project carried out in Singapore. It provides a battery of carefully crafted questions to address the various issues/concerns of older persons.

Part D: Skills Application: Re-employment, Retirement and other Issues

Counselling those who wish to be re-employed
  • Industry practice and criteria for re-employment or re-deployment
  • Labour market information
  • Job options/opportunities? Required skills?
  • Self-assessment
  • Job search and retraining resources
Counselling mature employees with the following issues at the workplace
  • Intergenerational &/or interpersonal issues
  • Mature employees who are depressed/anxious
  • Mature employees who are under-performing, etc
Counselling those who are retiring: meaningful retirement
  • Components of successful ageing
  • Relationships in later years
  • Community/voluntary work
  • Learning for life
  • Community and support services

End of course assessment

Course Duration

Two to five days, depending on needs of companies

*Criteria for award of Certificate (five day programme):
  1. Demonstrate competencies in applying the knowledge acquired and the various attending and micro-skills.
  2. Case presentations of interviews conducted with mature employees should show evidence of a good grasp of the material taught and self-awareness.