Supporting Employment for the Older Generation

Last week saw the publication of a new government backed report, which was released to support older workers in employment. The report - A New Vision for Older Workers: Retain, Retrain, Recruit - saw Dr Altmann, the government-appointed champion for older workers, report her findings and recommendations for improving the working lives of Britain’s over 50s. The report found that when those aged over 50 stay on in employment, more jobs are created for younger people, not fewer. Likewise, retaining older workers can result in increased salaries for younger workers, dismissing the current theory that older workers block jobs for the younger generation.

The report went on to declare that if everyone worked for just one year longer, 1% could be added to the UK’s annual GDP. However, if present rates remain and those aged over 50 continue to leave the workforce at the current rate, the UK could suffer serious labour and skill shortages. Current predictions already indicate that there will be 700,000 fewer people aged 16-49 in the UK by 2022. Therefore, older workers will be needed and should be valued. However, in order to encourage older workers to stay in employment a lot needs to be done, not least the tackling of ‘ageism’ in the workface, which the report claims is proving a significant barrier in the promotion and training of older workers. Dr Altmann called on the government to help with this through introducing a national strategy to improve adult skills, imposing new penalties for age discrimination and improving job centre programmes for over 50s. For ‘ageism’ to be overcome, the mentality throughout workplaces in the UK needs to be challenged and changed and older workers need to be recognised for the value they bring.

Read the full report here.