'Fix this broken system'. Call for overhaul for employment system for older workers

My husband kept us fed and clothed by doing just that. And in doing so he learnt valuable life and work skills - skills that were passed on to our children who saw a bloke having a go.

Now I readily admit I've never really had to genuinely look for work.

I left school and went straight into a journalism cadetship. After a few years we went travelling, and as happens, we ran out of money. "No problems," says hubby. He got me to put on my best dress and dropped me at the local newspaper office in Ipswich, Queensland.

Luckily for me it was a particularly busy time - show season - so I was welcomed with open arms. Nothing like a goat or cattle judging report to bring you back to earth.

Then, when we moved back to our home base, I was lucky to secure a position at the local newspaper - not as a journalist, but collecting debts... then selling advertising... helping with accounts... basically anything that needed doing, until a journalism role became available.

Yes, I was versatile. And I had to be, with a five-year-old and looking at securing a mortgage. My profession has treated me well. Forty years on I'm still here..

As for hubby, he's mastered two trades and is also a jack of all trades.

So while we're doing fine, thanks, spare a thought for those who are not. Imagine turning 50, or 55, and finding out your job no longer exists. What to do? Where to turn?

Employment services, people say. Good enough; but do they work?

According to Anglicare Australia, not well enough. The not-for-profit is calling for an urgent overhaul of employment services for older people, saying a changing job market and age discrimination is making it hard for them to compete.

The call follows the release of the organisation's annual Jobs Availability Snapshot, which shows at least five disadvantaged jobseekers competing for every entry level job.

"The stereotype is that Newstart is for younger people, but that's a myth," said acting executive director Roland Manderson.

"Around half of all people on Newstart are mature age jobseekers - and the number of older Australians on Newstart is growing by 10,000 a year."

Mr Manderson said instead of preparing to retire, many people are selling their homes and spending their savings.

"Nobody should be forced to retire into poverty," he said.

"It's taking an average of five years to find work for those who need the most help. And that's bad news for older people. Once a person over 50 has been unemployed for over a year, they're unlikely to ever find a job."

Mr Manderson described the decision to take away the option for people over 55 to meet their mutual obligation requirements with volunteering as counter-productive.

"And if we want to stop people from retiring into poverty, then we must raise Newstart and stop lifting the pension age," he said.

"These changes are all urgent.

"If we don't fix this broken system, we will be forcing people to spend their older years in poverty, starting with the unreasonable expectation that they find a job which isn't there."

Council on the Ageing Victoria agrees that it is time to end the barriers to senior employment.

It's time to start taking older workers' plight seriously, says COTA Vic chief executive Tina Hogarth-Clarke.

Ms Hogarth-Clarke said removing the barriers to employment of mature-age workers is overdue. Undervaluing the skills they bring to the workforce should also be challenged, she said.

A recent survey by the Australian Human Resources Institute identified the key advantages to employing mature workers as the knowledge and experience they bring.

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More than two-thirds of respondents said the departure of older workers creates a significant loss of skills and corporate knowledge.

"In (another) employment survey, two-thirds of employers said they were reluctant to hire workers over the age of 50," Ms Hogarth-Clarke said. "Job-seekers over 50 spend twice as long as the average looking for work."

While there are initiatives to encourage recruitment of older people, such as the federal government's Restart program, Ms Hogarth-Clarke said it is critical that businesses also have an important role to play.

"The involvement of corporate Australia to actively support government initiatives will be critical in addressing the under-employment of older Victorians, which is having a major impact on the health and welfare of many older workers and their families.

"Some Australian companies, such as Westpac, have led the way with the well-documented and successful policy of employing older staff... clearly demonstrating that reaching the age of 50 should not be considered the use-by-date for anyone."

Older employees have a wealth of knowledge and skills: and this is of great concern to hiring managers across the country.

Why? Because they fear that as baby boomers leave the workforce they will leave in their wake a "skills vacuum".

A survey of more than 600 hiring managers by recruitment firm Robert Half revealed that more than three-quarters worried it would be more challenging to find qualified professionals in the coming five years because of the boomer exodus.

Robert Half director Andrew Morris suggests businesses nurture their most experienced employees and consider them a valuable asset in helping companies prepare for the future.

We already know older employees are valuable, but it's nice to hear an expert say so.

Other options put forward to retain mature-age workers include creating opportunities to mentor new and lesser-experienced staff members; cross-generational working groups; offering flexible work hours and family leave opportunities, especially for those who also undertake a caring role; and offering development and learning programs.

A word to the wise: it makes sense.

Cheryl Field is Editor of The Senior.

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