As the Government announces it will invest in helping older people into the workforce, it has been beaten to the punch by Ian Fraser whose company, Seniors@work, has just completed its third year of operation.
The trend towards employing older people is one we can expect to increase. Among the reasons for this expectation is that Kiwis are growing older and living longer.
Senios@work was established with the dedicated aim to match employers with older (over 50) employees.
Regular readers of this newsletter will know the statistics; 1.5 million Kiwis are now aged 50 or older and within a decade this number will reach two million.
In an ageing population, will we run out of employees aged under 50? Perhaps not, but the median age of our population continues to rise. It is currently hovering around age 38 compared to age 25 in the 1970’s. It is expected to pass age 40 in eight years’ time.
Ian’s direct experience in placing employers with over 50’s workers, he acknowledges, will be less than the numbers recruited within larger recruitment agencies “because we are just a tadpole in a very big pond.”
But in three years he has noticed some shift in attitudes. And Government’s recent announcement to help older workers enter the workforce could be sign of shifting attitudes. Ian understands and agrees with the rhetoric and objectives of the report and is hopeful that the intended actions will be effective but feels that there should have been more “incentives’ for employers to encourage them to more strongly consider taking on mature job seekers
“I think most HR people are aged between, say 25 and 35 and they still might not identify with older generations but it’s very hard to gauge in reality.
Seniors @Work has progressively taken its representation of older workers to more employers each year.NZ Post, The Warehouse and St John are among the better known organisations who have committed to 12 month listing packages where he has found employment for people. A Queenstown- based hospitality group, QT and Rydges Hotels have also been a willing employer, offering a range of positions to Ian’s candidates.
Ian’s company has placed people in jobs in the full length of New Zealand.
“For an employer to list a position with our company, it means they are already thinking that an older person could be an ideal employee. I would say that around 70 percent of all jobs advertised could be filled by an older person.
“There is a small percentage of jobs that are much better suited to younger people but not as many as we might think.”
Ian said that the current employment market is helpful for older people wanting to work. He said that the usual assumptions about older people being more reliable and possibly having a solid work ethic, are well established and that can sometimes be helpful.
