Britain needs you

It is estimated that 300,000 fewer people are in employment compared to before the pandemic.

Part of the explanation for this is that older people have taken early retirement or are no longer able to work through ill health. However, some older people are actively looking for work but feel they are being discriminated against. The belief that older workers are discriminated against has been supported by new research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) which suggests that firms across the country are much less open to hiring older workers than they are to bringing in younger people and local firms are not immune to this prejudice. 

The current Chancellor [Jeremy Hunt] has promised support to help older people back into work with a “Britain needs you” publicity campaign. While the business support group, Enterprise Nation, see “wise workers” as an asset, being able to mentor small businesses or to join start-up businesses as they have a wealth of experience to draw on.  This might be a way to attract older people back into the workplace. However, what is being proposed by the government is less imaginative; a slightly shorter apprenticeship aimed at those over 50, which would enable people to retrain or return to work – this idea might not be as well received! 

Encouraging older workers back into the workforce or helping them to retrain could help to unlock growth, and help more than five million working-age adults who are economically inactive back to work.