Boomers and beyond

An EEO Trust survey of recruitment consultants has found that they have positive perceptions of older job candidates, saying they tend to be more reliable and have a better attitude to work than younger people.

The research project asked 12 recruitment consultants, corporate headhunters and search consultants about older workers and their clients’ attitudes to older workers. It builds on recent research which asked employers a similar set of questions to determine their views of older workers.

The EEO Trust undertook the research projects to gain an understanding of how well prepared employers are for the ageing workforce – still the most striking employment demographic. Almost a quarter of New Zealand’s workforce is in the 50-64 years age group and the number of workers over 65 years was 65,000 in 2006. This is projected to increase to 105,000 in 2011 and to 160,000 in 2021.

The recruiters interviewed believe that employers are becoming more positive about older workers, although pockets of discrimination do still exist. In particular, they say that some employers believe that older people do not have enough energy or physical capacity for senior management roles.
Many recruiters see a role for themselves in helping employers focus on the abilities needed for a role, rather than the age of applicants. They feel they can change perceptions by sending good older candidates who meet employers’ requirements.
In addition, they believe that the old barriers of technology and physical strength have been largely overcome as older people working in administrative areas now tend to have extensive IT experience, and lifting equipment eases much heavy manual work.

For example, a recruiter in the trades area says, “Age is just not an issue at the moment. It’s become more positive in the last 10-15 years because the younger generation aren’t properly prepared for work these days. The issue was when there was a technology gap for older workers, and a flood of older workers looking for jobs due to redundancy during restructuring in the 80s and 90s.”

“Older workers themselves are changing,” says Jo Gorman of Adecco Personnel. “They’re more agile and mobile and engaged in the workforce at the end of their careers, more flexible. The skill shortage has made employers be more open-minded and they’re pleasantly surprised when they open their eyes.”

The general consensus amongst the recruiters interviewed is that if employers and recruiters focus on skills and competencies, age is not an issue.

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