Experience Counts

Experience Counts - Does it?
Well yes and then again No. It is a sad fact that ageism is a very serious issue within today's employment market. 

The first question you need to ask yourself is "Are you over the hill"? Have you reached the age when most recruiters/HR departments will automatically bin your c.v. without looking past your age?  Of course not! Just so long us you haven't celebrated your thirty fifth birthday yet! Surprising though it may seem 35 is the age when ageism begins to take effect. Just about the age when you're finally able to say that you are beginning to have the kind of experience you need to do the job.

Ageism is now one of the most common forms of discrimination, which seems strange when you consider that with employees both having to and choosing to work for longer, the workforce is growing older than ever before, yet many companies are still focusing their recruitment drives on the young. This needs to change.

When the retirement age of 65 was introduced during the 1920's, the average life expectancy for a man was about 58. This has now risen to around 75. Furthermore it is increasing all the time and it is expected that by 2050 the average will be around 80. It’s a well-documented fact people are living longer at a time when birth rates are falling. These factors represent a major shift in the make up of the available workforce.

Of course half the problem with ageism is in the way we perceive older people. All our lives we have known 'older people' and have been taught to react to them in a particular way. The problem is that whilst this is normal it seems to have a residual effect in that once a certain magic number is reached then the view becomes simply 'too old' and that is that. Admittedly some people age faster than others, look and act older than other people the same age or even older than themselves.

But many people do not... Just because you've been around for forty or so years doesn't mean to say that you fit the stereotypical picture. Many people don't 'grow old' at least not until long after their peers. To operate an employment policy that is governed by age is to ignore a vast pool of high quality talent. As a society we need to change our perception and in doing so embrace the experienced mature workforce as the valuable resource it is. 

Many employers see an immediate financial benefit from maintaining a 'young' work force. Sadly this ignores completely the values and accompanying profitability brought by more experienced people and all to often proves to be non-cost effective.

Companies are currently being urged to rethink their employment strategies, while the recruitment industry is striving to enlighten employers against discrimination, to ensure Britain no longer lags behind. Under a new EU directive, the UK government is set to introduce new discrimination laws in the areas of age, religion and sexual orientation, to match age discrimination laws which have been in place in Ireland since 1999 and in the US since 1967. In October of 2003, European Community member states issued a directive that will make it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of age. Unfortunately, the UK Government has until 2006 to translate this directive into law.

Whilst we need the legislation to stimulate and reinforce changes in social attitudes. We cannot afford to wait for this to happen. 
So until such time as the government sees fit to implement this legislation The Experience Network will actively encourage companies to learn to accept and benefit from the experience that comes with age and as experience is often in short supply, to harness and benefit from it and stop excluding huge numbers of valuable employees from the workforce.