This article analyses the employment of people of pre-retirement age (60 to 64 years old), and its links to digital literacy and subjective
health status in Lithuania. The aim of the study is to identify the main technological and social barriers limiting the motivation and opportunities of older working-age people to remain in the labour market in the context of regional exclusion. Secondary data analysis was performed for the study, using data from a representative survey of the Lithuanian population in 2025 (n=650). Comparative analysis was applied, dividing respondents into two age groups (50 to 59 years and 60 to 64 years), and assessing their declared digital literacy according to place of residence and education. The study revealed a clear regional polarisation: in rural areas, low or zero digital self-awareness among 60 to 64-year-olds reaches 23.9%, while in the capital this indicator is eliminated. It was found that higher education acts as a protective factor against technological isolation, while people with secondary education usually have only basic competencies that are insufficient in the digitalised labour market. The employment trajectories of pre-retirement age people in Lithuania are determined by the complex interaction between declining investment in human capital, poorer subjective health status, and a lack of digital trust. The article concludes that active ageing in regions often becomes forced activity, determined by economic deprivation rather than successful technological adaptation.
Journal:Tiltai
Volume 94, Issue 1 (2025), pp. 1–15
Abstract
The social integration and reintegration of people with disabilities, especially war veterans and forced migrants, is important in the context of technological progress and social transformation. The study examines the role of instruments and technologies in facilitating these processes by improving access to rehabilitation, communication and professional engagement. Their influence and the role of institutions in promoting inclusion, providing medical, psychological and educational support, and in the formation of more social communities, are analysed. The study answers the questions:
(a) What solutions will be effective for social integration and reintegration for fostering social cohesion?
(b) How do assistive technologies affect reintegration processes? and (c) What steps should be taken to foster social integration and reintegration? The use of modern assistive technologies with stakeholder activities through the implementation of programmes will contribute to the formation of an inclusive society, the co-creation of a more social Europe, and more sustainable development.