Assembly calls for assistance for older jobseekers

Are the needs of older workers and the older unemployed being neglected?
(Pic : BBC)

They've previously done work on job opportunities for the young (Gissa Job : Assisting Young People Into Work), but last week, the National Assembly's Enterprise & Business Committee published a report into job opportunities for the over-50s (pdf).

Around 1.2million people in Wales are aged over 50, but 36% of them were unemployed at the start of September 2014. In terms of over-50s as a percentage of all economically inactive people it's the highest proportion amongst all nations and regions of the UK - a situation the Older People's Commissioner, Sarah Rochira, described as "quite alarming".

There've been a significant number of changes which impact workers nearing retirement. The scrapping of a default retirement age, and subsequent raising of the state retirement age, means people need to stay in the workforce for longer as a consequence of increasing life expectancies. Unfortunately, there's a chronic lack of research on what issues might be impacting over-50s.

The Committee made 11 recommendations, summarised as :

• The Welsh Government should commission research into many issues facing over-50s in and out of work such as skills & training, self-employment and older-age poverty. Research should also identify any age discrimination issues in employment and skills.
• The Welsh Government should do more generally to address age discrimination against the old.
• The Welsh Government should consider creating a Jobs Growth Wales-style scheme for the over-50s and publish a skills strategy for the age group.
• The Welsh Govenrment should monitor the impact of apprenticeship and skills funding/schemes on job seekers aged over-25, in particular those aged 50+.

Barriers to Employment

Some barriers affect both older and young job seekers (like public transport in rural areas and disability). The specific barriers facing over-50s fall under three main clusters :

Health & Care Duties – Ill-health and disability will be a natural barrier for older workers, in particular men and low earners, but there's a danger this becomes a stereotype. Long-term unemployment impacts health, and the later retirement age "due to a longer life expectancy" doesn't necessarily apply consistently across the whole UK. Also, there are issues surrounding care provided as grandparents or for elderly parents.

Age Discrimination & Stereotyping – Employees are supposed to be protected from age discrimination via the Equality Act 2010, but the Older Person's Commissioner has been told that some older workers have felt they've been "pushed into leaving their jobs", while Prime Cymru say older workers are often the "first to be made redundant and the last to be re-employed". It's said 21% of workers over-50 believe they've been actively discriminated against due to their age, but perceived discrimination may deter older workers from applying for jobs. Plus, older women are said to be more at risk of dropping out of the labour market than men due to taking up predominantly low-paid, part-time work.

Recruitment processes – Age is no longer a requirement on application forms, but employers/recruiters can determine age indirectly through listing "O-Level" qualifications or a long work history. Internet-only recruitment could also discriminate against older workers who are unfamiliar with computers. The Commissioner said there was a stereotype that if you're over-50 "you won't get through the door, because the perception is you won't be as fit....as other counterparts". Also counter to stereotypes, there's evidence (not supplied) that older workers are as productive, if not more so, than younger workers. Older workers are also more likely to remain loyal to an employer while under-25s are more like to change employer to progress up career ladders.

Work Placements & Skills Gaps

Though over-50s may be comfortable using computers generally,
work-related skills gaps were said to be a problem.
(Pic : Age UK)

Several witnesses were said to be keen to have an equivalent to Jobs Growth Wales for the over-50s, or an all-age version. Prime Cymru believes the current scheme (which is only available for those aged 16-24) "automatically discriminates against older people". Jobs Growth Wales was defended as it was supposed to enhance the CVs of younger workers, while older workers should already have extensive work experience.

IT skills were pointed to as an obvious skills barrier, but the evidence was mixed. The Commissioner said evidence suggests IT skills were a noticeable gap, but the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said the picture was "mixed", with many over-50s comfortable using a computer at home but don't have work-ready skills.

It was suggested older workers lack "soft skills" (something also claimed of younger workers) and need to build their confidence. They might have worked for one employer for a long period of time and might not have applied for a job recently, or be unfamiliar with common interview tactics. There's also said to be a reluctance amongst over-50s to address literacy and numeracy issues they might have in a classroom/course setting.

Unfortunately, the Committee say there wasn't enough research to determine what sort of jobs over-50s take up and whether they're disproportionately impacted by zero hour contracts.

One bright side is that self-employment/entrepreneurship is described as "an attractive option" for older workers, and there's plenty of support for new businesses regardless of age. Again, there's a lack of research into what sort of businesses older entrepreneurs establish.

Support & Training

There's criticism of the lack of help available to older workers to retrain.
(Pic : The Mirror)

In terms of support for older job seekers, there was criticism that DWP hasn't prioritised older job seekers down the years, though DWP explain that all job centres now have over-50 strategies, which includes things like re-skilling, promoting volunteering – said to be very important in boosting confidence amongst older workers - and CV reviews.

Despite this, older job seekers are twice as likely to be long-term unemployed than younger job seekers, and the Deputy Minister for Skills, Julie James (Lab, Swansea West), said older job seekers often wind up in the UK Government's Work Programme, so the Welsh Government have worked to ensure their own schemes don't overlap or duplicate the UK's.

In terms of training, Prime Cymru say up to 60-70% of their clients have to retrain due to the nature of their previous jobs – mainly due to a shift from heavy industry to services.

Around 27,000 over-50s are said to be enrolled on further education (FE) courses, but the Committee were "concerned" that there's been a 42% drop in over-50 FE students since 2006-07 – due at least in part to the impact full-time study has on benefit entitlements. There's a similar trend for higher education (universities) also.

Colegau Cymru say full-time courses might not be suitable for older students with other responsibilities, and the infrastructure for adult learning needs improvement and investment. The Deputy Minister said the Welsh Government were exploring the creation of modular courses where study would take place cumulatively over a longer period of time.

Apprenticeships aren't often used for over-50s, though women over-50 in particular were more likely to be on higher-level apprenticeships than men in areas like health and social care. Apprenticeships are being refocused towards under-25s, and the Committee were concerned this would have and adverse impact on support for older workers.

Government Strategies

Several witnesses were concerned about the lack of progress since the Welsh Government's older people's strategy was launched in 2013, which aimed to ensure older workers who want to retrain are able to do so. There was particular frustration that funding hasn't been ring-fenced specifically for addressing the goals of the strategy.

The Deputy Minister made no apology for focusing on youth unemployment which was described as, "the scourge of all Western civilisations". Despite this there are all-age programmes open to everyone, such as Work Ready, Lift and ReAct. No work has been undertaken to monitor the effect of prioritising younger people on older job seekers, and the Deputy Minister agreed that trying to navigate the sheer number of programmes – particularly EU-funded programmes - was "difficult".

The Welsh Government "uses exemplar employers" to promote good practice, but this often couldn't extend to small and micro companies. The DWP have also launched an "age positive" campaign which they say they would like the Welsh Government to be more involved with.

Conclusions

An untapped resource?
(Pic : realbusiness.co.uk)

It's reasonable to say that the over-50s – perhaps the over-25s generally – aren't getting a good deal from government employment schemes, especially if they've been out of the job market for a while. As said in the report, it's easy to understand why – youth unemployment can damage employment prospects for a lifetime so there's more impetus to deal with issues as they start not as they end (as people approach retirement).

I fully expect that people my age won't routinely retire until our mid-70s, and the period between the end of middle age and retirement will become a "winding down period" of part-time work before full retirement. The cost to the state and in terms of personal savings/pension arrangements will just be too much retire at 68 – the new state retirement age for those born after April 1977.

Older workers have a lot to offer, and although it might sound clichéd, it includes expertise and experience. If older workers are out of the workforce, the economy is in danger of losing that expertise if it's not passed down across the generations. So maybe instead of seeing younger workers as competition in an increasingly fractious job market, they should be seen as mentees.

Should older professionals and mandatory early-retirees (from the armed forces, police etc.) be encouraged into teaching? Are there skills those who once worked in heavy industry can pass down? Do FE colleges and universities need to become general centres of learning not something for teenagers and twenty-somethings? Do we need to overhaul postgraduate and part-time higher education courses? All valid issues here for politicians to address.