When investment firm Canada Life took on and trained a group of over-50s at its Isle of Man investment headquarters recently, managers had three concerns: the new recruits turned up to work too early, they dressed in suits – and they peppered their bosses with questions.
Once persuaded to adopt a slightly more casual dress code, however, the older workers became valued employees.
Lyndsey Simpson, of consultancy-cum-campaign group 55/Redefined, had worked with Canada Life to tackle persistent recruitment challenges, by turning to a neglected talent pool: local fiftysomethings looking to change jobs or return to the workforce after a break.
“The first block was the hiring managers: they would say, ‘why am I looking at the CV of someone who’s been a taxi driver for 30 years?’” she says. But Simpson insists: “If you can train a 21-year-old, you can train someone in this age group. And once you get intergenerational teams, that’s when the magic happens.”
Despite the success of experiments like this, the hiring managers’ initial reticence is backed up by recent research for website Totaljobs which suggested 46% of recruiters believe a 57-year-old candidate would be “too old” to hire.
With the economic inactivity rate among 50 to 64-year-olds stalled since the pandemic at about 27%, more than twice that of 25 to 34-year-olds, experts say ministers will have to tackle barriers to work for older people if it wants to “Get Britain Working” – the title of a forthcoming government white paper.
“They’ve set out a really strong agenda for what they’re going to do about getting the youth employment rate up, which is super important. We need to hear their plans for the older end,” says Emily Andrews, deputy director at thinktank the Centre for Ageing Better.
She cites two kinds of challenges: practical and cultural. The practical issues are those that workers can face at any age, but which can be particularly prevalent in those over 50. “It’s things like having a caring responsibility and having a long-term health condition,” Andrews says.
Lengthy NHS waiting lists are likely to be a factor here, while the government-funded Access to Work scheme, which pays for adjustments to help people manage health conditions, also has a significant backlog.
The second set of challenges concerns attitudes both of employers and workers.
“You’ve got straightforward ageism and age discrimination. The opportunities that people give us are limited because of our age: so someone being told, ‘we think you’ve got too much experience for the job’. But there’s also internalised ageism. That’s the opportunities that we think we deserve,” says Andrews.
Prof Sarah Vickerstaff, of the University of Kent, an expert in ageing and the workforce, agrees. “I think we need much more discussion of ageism as a problem in the labour market,” she says.
She calls for a public information campaign on the issue – and points to practical steps employers can take to counteract potential bias in the recruitment process.
“Are you saying you’re looking for ‘dynamic, energetic people’, which might put off over-50s, when actually dynamism and energy doesn’t have a hell of a lot to do with the job?” she asks. “Are the people interacting with jobseekers all between 25 and 33 and therefore the older person comes in and thinks, ‘this bunch aren’t going to look at me very favourably?’”
With Labour preparing to take a more active role in trying to help people into work, Vickerstaff urges the DWP to view all its plans through an “age lens”, asking whether they can work for older jobseekers.
Simpson, of 55/Redefined, says people in this age group may have different priorities to their younger counterparts, with flexibility, and “purpose”, potentially more motivating factors than money.
Stephen Evans of thinktank the Learning and Work Institute says working directly with employers, and challenging them where necessary, is likely to be part of the solution.
“One of the missing bits for me, certainly under the last government, is about the role of employers, because too often it’s, ‘what public services can we provide, and how we can engage individuals?’ but if the recruiting manager is going to say, ‘you’re over 57: no, thank you’, then it’s all a bit futile,” he says.
A government spokesperson said: “Our Get Britain Working white paper will join up work, health, education and skills support help everyone, including older people, find good jobs and stay in work.”
