16. European Enterprise Awards 2025 AIS-Nov25414 The professional job market is a challenging place at times, and notoriously unkind to the 50-plus age group. There are countless stories of seasoned businessmen and women leaving or being let go from their jobs and then struggling to find decent employment elsewhere, passed over for younger individuals who can be paid less money and easily moulded to a company’s ecosystem. Bucking this trend in Portugal is Associação dNovo, which works with highly educated and experienced managers/leaders in this group, helping those who are unemployed to re-enter the workforce. Supporting professionals across a number of business and development areas, dNovo’s focus on senior mentoring via access to its experienced network, training candidates to develop new skills and improve their existing ones, networking by helping to build new contacts, and entrepreneurship by leveraging ideas from the various stakeholders across its ecosystem, sees it help with reintegration and have a direct impact on the economy. The latter is achieved by boosting tax contributions and reducing employment benefits payments. As this demonstrates, at the heart of this non-profit organisation is a commitment to placing active ageing and unemployment amongst older professionals on Portugal’s political agenda, helping to nurture discussions across wider society and draw attention to the economic and social consequences that arise on the back of this issue. What makes dNovo a pioneer is that it is the only organization across the country working to combat unemployment for qualified seniors, an act for which it has been recognised by Portugal’s higher-ups. “Recently, Associação dNovo obtained public utility status in Portugal, which legally recognises its social contribution in the area of employment and professional inclusion.” Clearly then, dNovo stands for something much bigger than itself, and this is seen through the shifts of the wider labour market across Portugal and throughout the rest of Europe aligning very much with its mission. For example, the population is ageing, and this means that people are working for longer. Despite the policies and incentives that have been put in place on the back of this, a lot of senior talent still experience discrimination, and are believed to have less adaptability, higher costs, and be change resistant. This demonstrates the urgency of the problem that dNovo is looking to solve and necessitates the need for a clear, measurable impact to overcome a situation that is both real and visible across Portugal. If professionals aged 50 or over with academic qualifications are to continue to contribute their talent and experience to the labour market – which they will have to do as pensions at this stage are rarely enough to live off of – then policies need to evolve to encompass better training, greater flexibility, and more incentives. Exploring further how dNovo achieves the outcomes essential for transformative change in this space, a spokesperson for the organisation told us more about the network it has built on values such as collaboration and social commitment: “We work in partnership with various stakeholders committed to this cause, including our group of volunteer mentors, whose guidance is essential as they understand the needs of each professional and provide pragmatic support in finding solutions to speed up the return to paid work.” With distinguishing factors like its network to boot, dNovo is looking at 2026 as yet another year when it will consolidate and expand its impact on senior employability – all whilst maintaining its rigorous focus on social innovation, scalability, and financial sustainability. To achieve this, the organisation has developed a three-stage strategic plan outlining its aims of scaling social impact, driving innovation and digitalisation, and continuing down the path of sustainability and strategic partnerships. Of course, this strategy is too comprehensive to go into in full, but some of the highlights include its plans to reduce the average time of reintegration for senior talent by 25%, see around 1,500 aged professionals complete training programmes, launch a new digital platform, and work with a consortium of partner companies to achieve financial stability by 2028. Although it may be ambitious, this plan reflects an organisation passionate about increasing its scope and its impact and building a more inclusive society. Ultimately, perhaps the most impressive thing about this work is that it is inspiring other corporations to embrace this mission and create their own initiatives concerning senior employability. Since Associação dNovo’s policies are also all transferable, they can be replicated in other DEI areas as well, helping to nurture a better future for all. It is as a result of this that we are proud to recognise this association promoting senior employability in Portugal with a spot in our European Enterprise Awards 2025. Contact: Isabel Viegas Company: Associação dNovo Web Address: https://dnovo.pt/ Best Senior Talent Empowerment Organisation 2025 – Portugal From left to right, these are the three founders of the Association: Joaquim Paiva Chaves, Isabel Viegas and João Castello Branco
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