An important dimension of dialogue is choice work, whereby participants are called upon to make difficult choices, based on what they value or believe to be important. During the deliberative dialogue, participants were invited to share their views and identify their priorities throughout the day.

Participants opened the day by introducing themselves to the plenary and identifying their key concerns or expectations.

The morning conversation was then dedicated to understanding the issue and identifying priorities, with a focus on exploring underlying values, differences, and common ground. The question used to focus the morning conversation was: What key topics and specific challenges are important to you and why? This part of the conversation was concluded by a prioritization exercise.

The afternoon conversation then focused on opportunities for action. In particular, participants explored what needs to be done, by whom and under what conditions. The question used to focus this part of the conversation was: What actions must be undertaken? By whom? Under what conditions?

As a supplement to their detailed conversations and dialogue, participants were asked to fill out two questionnaires, which would provide additional and more quantifiable assessments of their perspectives. A pre-dialogue questionnaire was administered on the morning of the deliberative dialogue, prior to the start of the dialogue proceedings. A post-dialogue questionnaire, containing the same set of questions as the first, was administered at the end of the deliberative dialogue. The pre- and post- dialogue questionnaires allow for an analysis of participants' perspectives on issues pertaining to skills needs in the context of an aging workforce, and for an examination of how the deliberative dialogue experience itself may have influenced or changed those perspectives.

The following pages provide a summary of the concerns and priorities identified by participants during the first half of the day. They then summarize key findings from the dialogue as they relate to the three topics proposed by the APTF, including a number of additional strategic considerations that have emerged from participants' discussions. It concludes by providing a summary of the input collected through the pre- and post-dialogue questionnaire.