About Cornwall Works 50+

Through supporting Cornwall Works (a partnership approach to delivering welfare to work support in Cornwall), Dott Cornwall encouraged fresh design solutions to the issues faced by older people in, and looking for, work.

The number of older people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is projected to increase by a quarter over the next decade. Cornwall Works 50+ was a roject set up specifically  to help overcome the challenges and obstacles faced by an ageing population at work.

The project identified ways to extend employment opportunities for the over 50s and found  solutions to redesign their career pathways and engage them in activities that could lead to new jobs. Strategies encouraging businesses to accommodate older workers for longer  included promoting intergenerational activities between older and younger workers, which in turn led  to valuable skills being retained in the workplace – as well as introducing new skills and technology to the older generation.

By bringing together the needs of people and key businesses of Cornwall’s future, Cornwall Works 50+ improved communication and support between the workplace and older workers. The project was run by Inclusion Cornwall, (Part of Cornwall Strategic Partnership and Cornwall Council) in partnership with Dott’s Senior Producer, ThinkPublic, and supported by the European Social Fund. It was launched, alongside the Cornwall Works Care 50+ project, via a bus tour around Cornwall, which sought to inform and engage as many people as possible.

During the initial stages of this project, Dott helped to diagnose the problems affecting communities in relation to the changing demographic in the workplace. Moving through the co-discovery, co-design and co-development phases, the project leaders spent time engaging with older workers in employment, seeking employment and approaching retirement but wishing to stay in work for longer.

As a result, Dott managed to activate people-based solutions that helped older people find employment, boosted communication between businesses and older workers, and initiated new channels through which older people can take up new careers with help and support.

To find out more about the project please contact Emma Gasson emma.gasson@thinkpublic.com