Malcolm (above), aged 67, is not alone in this, as age discrimination routinely occursA report from LinkedIn Talent Solutions has revealed that diversity is regarded as the “biggest game-changer” for hiring processes in 2018, however there is one area of diversity that is not yet trending – and that is age diversity.
And why not? Because it’s really hard to find the right mature talent.
Take Malcom Smith for example. Malcom, now aged 67, gave up applying to traditional job postings as he felt he was being discriminated against on account of his age. Malcolm is not alone in this, as age discrimination routinely occurs.
In 2015, Anglia Ruskin University published the results of a study where two sets of CVs were submitted in response to almost 2,000 job adverts. Half of the CVs were from a 28-year-old, the other half from a 50-year-old, but otherwise the candidates had identical skills and interests. The 50-year-old candidate was four times less likely to be offered an interview.
Undeterred and determined to find work, Malcolm finally found and registered on No Desire To Retire – a jobs board specifically aimed at the over 50s who want to get back to work. He joined 25,000 experienced older hires on the site looking for work, knowing that any employer advertising on that site would be open and willing to an older hire.
“At No Desire to Retire we are often approached by recruitment agencies who have been struggling to attract mature applicants and we work with them to fill these positions” says Natasha Oppenheim, CEO of the site.
By 2022 there is estimated to be a labour shortage of 7.7m people. Finding the people with the right skills to fill this labour gap can be challenging but the solution is with the millions of older experienced people looking to work.
“The UK is facing a huge skills gap; older workers are vital to filling it and are ready to. We need more businesses to show leadership and commit to retaining and recruiting the over 50s talent, so they can benefit from their abilities and experience” says Andy Briggs, Chair of the Business in the Community Age at Work Leadership Team.
Malcom replied to an Aviva advert on the site and in March 2016 he was offered a job in their motor claims department in Norwich. ‘If I were looking to hire experienced mature workers, I think No Desire to Retire is a great place to find Over 50s Talent.’ Since then he has been promoted to Age Champion for UK Diversity.
Written by Natasha Oppenheim the CEO of www.nodesiretoretire.com
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