Recruiters awarded as age crusaders

It was announced today that a number of UK recruiters have been officially recognised for their efforts in promoting workplace age diversity at the Age Positive Recruitment Excellence Awards 2004, run by the Governmentís Age Positive Campaign.

The winners were:

Encore Recruitment (Category 1 ñ 1 to 9 employees)

Linda Taylor Associates (Category 2 ñ 10 to 99 employees)

Blue Arrow (Category 3 ñ 100 or more employees)

Monster.com (Best practice within online recruitment)

Claire Barlow, LCA Resourcing (Best practice by an individual)

Entrants to the Awards were required to demonstrate not only a positive attitude towards candidates of all ages, but to provide evidence that they have helped change clientsí ageist practices and are committed to educating clients about the business benefits of age diversity in employment.

Malcolm Wicks, Minister for Pensions, who spearheads the Age Positive Campaign said: ìThe response to the Awards has been tremendous, with strong entries across all categories. This is a true testament to the hard work and effort the recruitment industry is putting in to change ageist stereotypes and some employersí antiquated attitudes.

ìRecruitment consultants are in the compelling position to educate their clients about the benefits of embracing diversity in the workplace in the fullest sense of the word. They must continue to seize the opportunities to do so and encourage applicants to apply for jobs on the basis of their abilities ñ rather than their date of birth.î

Phil Owers, Head of Monster Government Solutions commented: ìWe firmly believe that with an ageing population, it is essential for companies to be more proactive in their approach to the employment of older people. Monster Worldwide was one of the first specialist agencies to develop a programme for Equality and Diversity; and positive age discrimination has always been high on our agenda. We have also helped clients target older people for recruitment as employers realise the value of a more experienced workforce. This award demonstrates the success Monster has achieved both internally in our own recruitment practices and externally with our clients, to be Age Positive.î

Roger Tweedy, Head of Diversity at Blue Arrow commented: ìWe are extremely honoured that the work we are doing to help clients achieve their age diversity objectives has been recognised by Age Positive.î

ìEnlightened employers have long recognised that a balanced workforce comprising a mix of younger and older people makes them operationally stronger and the workplace a fairer place to be.

ìAt Blue Arrow, we will continue to focus on internal training for branch managers and wider projects with leading age agencies, to ensure we stay ahead of the game, and are best-place to advise industry as it prepares for the new requirements.î

The business benefits of age diversity include increased profits, morale, productivity, staff retention as well as providing a better company image, a wider range of skills and access to a broader customer base.