Wellington Pools is looking for a lifeguard who is more than 50 years old, according to an advertisement which told applicants to “forget your preconceptions of what lifeguard looks like… we want people from all stages of life”.
But the team behind the seniors at work website says with 7000 registered jobseekers over the age of 50, they need many more opportunities like this to match the spike in people looking.
Seniors at Work Founder Ian Fraser said the general slow down in recruitment increasingly impacts older workers.
Fraser told Checkpoint they were getting between 50 and 100 new people signing up to the site every day.
“It’s definitely gone up and I have to say unfortunately, that in the last especially six to nine months, I’ve had more and more job seekers who are struggling, contact me and ask for assistance and advice.”
He said the increase was a huge jump from what they were seeing just over nine months ago.
“That figure has gone up probably at least 50 percent.”
Fraser said the tough economic climate was making it incredibly tough for older jobseekers, and while the same issues were also affecting young people looking for work, unemployment has different implications as people aged.
“Let’s not forget the 50 and overs who are also struggling and they’ve got to put food on the table…. they’ve got mortgages, their health costs are increasing… it really is hard for older job seekers to find work at the moment.”
While New Zealand’s ageing population was contributing to the issue, Fraser said the economic environment was having a bigger impact on the issue.
“We’re fitter, healthier, we’re living longer. So we either want to work or we need to work.
“There are a lot more people in the older age brackets that are working now than there were 20 years ago. The number has gone up quite drastically, but there are still an awful lot out there that are really looking for work and need to work.”
Fraser said misconceptions about older workers – which often were not true – often hindered their ability to get a job.
“A lot of people say [older people] are not tech savvy, that comes up all the time… whilst it might be fair to say that some people struggle, a lot don’t struggle.”
As for those who were struggling to keep up with changes in the workforce, Fraser said there were easy fixes.
“If you get an opportunity to do some retraining, take that opportunity. Don’t ever ignore it. And even if you’re not working, there are courses out there that are generally free and if you see one of those and you might be lacking in a certain skill do take advantage of that.”
Currently the site has about 80 different job listings, which includes about 10 employers who are actively seeking older workers.
“They’ve got jobs that are listed where they are openly encouraging and welcoming older people to apply for those jobs, and there’s some fantastic brands in that lot.
“So there are opportunities out there and there are companies and employers that want to encourage older workers and are very, very supportive.”
Fraser said the company would love to welcome more employers to assist in helping get more seniors back into work.
