The Federal Government recently announced that employers would be paid an incentive fee to hire older workers. From July 1,2012 employers will be paid $1000 to hire unemployed people 50 or over in a bid to reduce discrimination against older job seekers.
While the financial incentive to employers is a bonus, the bigger benefit from this announcement is that it demonstrates that the government is trying to encourage a change in attitude towards hiring older workers.
It’s blindingly obvious that older workers can play a major role in reducing the skills and labour shortages that threaten the economy. Numerous research studies show that older workers, turn up on Mondays, are loyal, motivated and have a good work ethic. At no extra cost, many come with wisdom and experience gained over many years. They realise that tough times can happen and they have been through a few.
A recent report “Economic Potential of Senior Australians” has once again highlighted the value of hiring older people. This report has motivated the government to budget $10 million towards this employer incentive program.
We can only hope that this government program and the initiatives to hire mature workers taken by other leading businesses, will help get the message to employers still stuck in the “too old” mindset.
I could be unkind enough to suggest that some of the resistance to hiring people in their 50s and 60s is coming from employees in Human Resources Departments who are in their 20s and 30s and might feel threatened by some older and wiser heads (even if they are not as pretty).
In the years ahead the obvious “win – win” situation is for employers to take advantage of an older workforce and for people who have “retired” from their career to keep working, possibly on a casual basis, so they can stay mentally active and engaged, while earning additional income.
Paul McKeon