Advertisement

Older workers discriminated, struggling to compete

Older workers are terrified at the prospect of raising the pension age.

Older workers are terrified at the prospect of raising the pension age. Photo: Getty

Proposals to further lift the pension age have “terrified” some mature-aged jobseekers, who said they were already struggling to compete for work with candidates decades their junior.

The Federal Government has flagged plans to reintroduce legislation to raise the pension age from the current 65 years and six months, to age 70, by 2035.

But with the pressure on workers to stay in paid employment longer, some have called for bosses to reform their attitudes and find longer-term career paths for their employees.

The National Willing to Work report, recently released by the Australian Human Rights Commission, exposed widespread discrimination against older workers, and the myths that they were “forgetful, inflexible”, and had trouble learning new skills.

Last month former Human Rights Commissioner Susan Ryan told the National Press Club that attitudes must change because there were huge economic benefits in employing mature aged workers.

“The business case for employing older workers is undeniable, yet only relatively few businesses are doing it,” Ms Ryan said.

The report found one in 10 business have a maximum age above which they will not recruit — and the average age was 50.

But it was not just private enterprise at fault, with the Council on the Ageing (COTA) claiming the Federal Government’s recruitment practices, which required candidates to disclose their age, only reinforced the problem.

COTA ACT executive director Jenny Mobbs said older candidates were too often missing out on jobs.

“The selection panels in the public service can be quite a young group of people, and they don’t want their mum or their dad walking in and taking over in the workforce,” Ms Mobbs said.

“It’s a really complex issue, certainly one where the discrimination’s certainly there.

“If a 35-year-old applies for a job, and a 60-year-old applies for the job, the 35-year-old, particularly in Canberra, will get the job.

“Younger people don’t like to work with older people who’ve got much more experience because they feel threatened.”

Older workers a solution to labour shortage in Japan

With Japan in the grip of an economic crisis employers are turning to experienced older workers to lead the way.

In the eternal tussle between youth and experience, a growing number of Japanese companies are declaring experience the victor, re-hiring skilled retirees to pass their know-how on to young workers.

Sakae Kajita, 67, makes a daily commute to his office.

He was forced to retire three years ago from his former position because his then employer’s corporate policy was to retire workers once they reached the age of 64.

But “retirement’ is not in Sakae Kajita’s vocabulary.

“I like to keep myself busy,” he said.

Mr Kajita is back in the workforce after being lured to a new job, teaching graduates in his field of expertise — mechanical engineering in the electronics industry.

older workers

Sakae Kajita passes on his skills to younger staff. Photo: ABC

He said he had a great deal of relevant experience to pass on to younger workers.

His employer agreed. “Mr Kajita has very deep knowledge of the industry, but the most important thing is that he has a wide network. He has good connections with people who are potential clients for us,” Advantec company manager Mikio Araki said.

Mr Kajita was linked to his job by Pasona, a recruitment company which specialises in matching senior workers — often retired managerial staff — with appropriate companies.

“Every company has some sort of problem. The senior person we send them will give advice based on their expertise and, not only that, they can actually solve the issue on the spot,” Pasona’s president Takashi Watanabe said.

Pasona now has more than 3,000 experts on its books who are aged over 60 years old, and it says demand for older workers is growing.

Japan’s population is ageing and its workforce is shrinking rapidly.

In 40 years, 60 per cent of the population will be over 65 and the workforce will be short an estimated 8.5 million people.

Carmaker Honda recently raised the mandatory retirement age to allow its older workers to stay in their jobs for longer.

It is among a growing number of large Japanese corporations to recognise the untapped resource of highly skilled older people as the nation grapples with the demographic challenges of the future.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.