As jobs are becoming rarer than hens' teeth one company can still offer a ray of hope to older jobseekers. SkilledPeople.com specialises in finding positions for the over 50s, a group generally found to offer their employers a higher level of dependability, flexibility and experience.
Despite current legislation to drive out age discrimination in the workplace, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the over 50s are losing jobs at a far faster rate than their younger colleagues. Unemployment figures for those aged over 50 rose by 27% in the last quarter compared to just 8% for workers under 50, yet the government has done nothing to redress the balance in its recent 500m plan to ease unemployment.
Once unemployed, the over 50s are less likely to be re-employed meaning that within a short time the UK labour force could face the permanent loss of some vital skills and experience just at a time when these will be needed the most to support the inevitable upturn in the economy.
David Hiddleston, managing director of SkilledPeople.com said These figures highlight the fact that jobs for the over 50s are increasingly difficult to find in spite of current rules on age discrimination. HR managers appear to be ignoring this legislation, preferring to recruit from a much younger age band, perhaps because so many are young themselves and tend to favour their own generation - totally missing the point that older people can bring a wealth of experience and wisdom to the party.
SkilledPeople.com's growing register of more than 3000 jobseekers covers virtually every industry, so employers have a huge and varied workpool of willing workers to dip into. It makes commercial and financial sense for employers to recruit from this age group. Recruitment costs, lost working hours from 'hangover Mondays', extended maternity and paternity leave and lack of experience are among the highest overheads faced by companies today - older people do not present these problems concluded Hiddleston.
Glimmer of hope for older job hunters
As jobs are becoming rarer than hens' teeth one company can still offer a ray of hope to older jobseekers
