Blog: The rise of online age-inclusive workshops

The last few months have dramatically changed the ways we live, work and socialise together – especially for older people in Scotland. Age Scotland has been at the forefront of providing advice, support and friendship to those who are most vulnerable and at risk of loneliness and isolation.

As we take steps to return to normality, it’s also vital not to forget the impact on older workers. While much of the media focus has been on the economic impact on the young, employees at the other end of the age spectrum have also been hard hit.

And in these uncertain times, planning for our future (as much as we can!) has never been more important.

We're delighted that we’re now able to continue our work in helping to make workplaces more age friendly. The quick move by many organisations to home working, where possible, has meant many of us have become accustomed to new, more remote ways of working. 

While our usual face-to-face sessions haven't been possible, we've found that the newly launched virtual workshops are proving to be just as popular, if not more so!

Here are three reasons why:

1. It’s easy to bring everyone together

It’s far easier and more cost effective to fit everyone into the same ‘virtual room’ than it is  in a physical location. Many of the organisations we work with have employees all over Scotland and bringing them together at a suitable time can be a logistical challenge. By moving online, the organisation becomes much more simple.

2. We can reach far flung places

Some of the organisations that approach us are based in remote locations and often it can be a challenge to get to them. This is particularly so for our Planning For Your Future sessions which bring together four different expert presenters from across Scotland.

Our virtual sessions can be held anywhere – living rooms and home offices included!

3. It’s just as engaging and interactive

We use Zoom for our virtual workshops which allows our facilitators to present the workshop and also have breakout groups for discussions.

Organisations that have taken part include Amazon Customer Services Edinburgh, who attended our Dementia Awareness sessions and commented that “the virtual workshop was fantastic”.

Other attendees felt that “the online format worked really well” and one commented on how Zoom allowed the breakout groups to stay on track and keep to timings. Our workshop presenters have found it just as positive an experience too!