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Just when you thought the world was moving out of the dark ages, another report of the ongoing covert discrimination mature age workers continue to suffer.  In an article in today'sedition of Human Capital Magazine Online, the following research results are reported:

A new survey has found that older workers are more likely to experience some form of discrimination at work, including being made redundant before others, fewer training and development opportunities, inflexibility towards health and physical needs, and even verbal abuse.

In the over-50s, discrimination was found to be at its most severe among middle managers earning under $80,000 per year – they were twice as likely to have experienced age-related discrimination as those earning more, the Financial Services Council (FSC) found.

Older workers were also found to be more concerned over their financial security, and nearly half of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied or concerned with the amount of superannuation they had accumulated. In light of the aging population crisis in Australia, FSC’s John Brogden said attitudes towards older workers needed to change. “At current trends, by 2050 there will only be 2.7 working Australians for every citizen over 65. Without action, this will have serious implications for the quality of life of every Australian,” Brogden added.

National Seniors chief executive Michael O’Neill said the result is the creation of an underclass more likely to experience social isolation, ill health and financial insecurity. He said the cost to the nation translates into a $10.8bn annual loss to the economy.

Industry commentators say that age discrimination is still commonplace, particularly in the area of recruitment. “Recruitment agencies hide behind the excuse that clients stipulate the ‘age range’ of their ideal applicant – mostly falling into the ‘prime age’ group – whilst organisations tell us that their recruitment agencies simply don’t funnel mature applicants through the pipeline.”  Employers that rely on ‘youth talent’ are effectively shooting themselves in the foot because they are also weeding out experience and expertise within their organisation.

The FSC called for an end to the concept of full-time work followed by full-time retirement and a greater focus on creating more flexible work practices and schemes to encourage further workforce participation by older workers. “Australians remaining in the workforce for longer periods will stretch retirement incomes by supplementing superannuation through part-time work as well as reduce our nation’s skills shortage,” Brogden said.

Source:http://www.hcamag.com/newsletter/content/121838/

Happy New Year to all!

The new year of 2012 has dawned and with it comes hope for a bigger and better year for our skilled and experienced cohort of Job Seekers.  With every day, the population of Australia ages just a little more and with every step to an older population, comes the realisation for the country's employers that they can no longer afford to ignore workers aged 40 and above.

The benefits of our talent pool are many fold -

• 20 plus years of experience in their vocation, from the day they walk through the door
• life skills that add value to any workforce
• employees that can mentor and train young, less skillled staff
• safer workplaces
• greater work ethic and workplace commitment
• and many more

The projections for lower interest rates and greater confidence in the economy, will prompt employers to look favourably at increasing employment as the year progresses.  Keep an eye on us as the year rolls on - we have some exciting new projects in the pipeline!

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), has this week released a new book of research essays which have been written since a roundtable held in Canberra in May, when the issue was hotly debated by industry stakeholders.

Themes to arise from the roundtable included the need to consider the diversity of older workers, the challenges of low literacy and numeracy skills for some older workers, discrimination and stereotypes, and the recognition that not all older workers want to keep working.

In turn, the issues addressed in the new release, Older workers: research readings reflect the central challenges, and Francesca Beddie, general manager research NCVER, commented that while some older workers can manage their transition into retirement, others are not in a position to choose when and how they move out of the workforce.

“We must also remember that not all older workers want to continue working,” Beddie added.

However, research from Mercer’s 2011 What’s Working survey has found older workers are feeling left out of career development opportunities, with only 40% of 55-64 year olds feeling they have sufficient opportunities for growth and development.

In addition to opening up greater career opportunities for Australia’s older and experienced workers,

Rob Bebbington, head of Mercer’s Human Capital business in Australia and New Zealand, said employers need to think ahead and enforce adequate succession planning as Baby Boomers begin to edge towards retirement age in the coming years.

According to the Mercer findings, HR directors/leaders need to look closely at where their older employees are best placed within the organisation, and where their skills and experience can be shared and optimised to prepare the next generation of leaders and managers.

Source: Human Capital E-zine - http://www.hcamag.com/newsletter/content/119853/

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