INTHEBLACK April 2025 - Magazine - Page 46
F E AT U R E
“The biggest reason why older persons are not engaged
in the workforce is because of the underlying prejudices or
biases in the recruitment process by both recruiters external
to organisations and internal human resources departments.”
ROBERT FITZGERALD AM, AGE DISCRIMINATION COMMISSIONER
Fraser’s response to his experience was
to create Seniors@work, a job platform
specifically tailored to match jobseeking
seniors with employers who are looking to
hire people of all ages to join their workforce.
“Employers shouldn’t think that someone
over 50 is past it, and they shouldn’t
necessarily just be looking for younger
people to fill a particular role.
“I see so many qualities in people aged
50 and over — experience, reliability, a strong
work ethic, maturity, mentoring skills — and
they’re not likely to be looking for their next
job as soon as they start,” Fraser says.
Educating recruiters and human resource
departments about the benefits of creating
multigenerational workplaces is a critical
step, he argues.
“The issue is that a lot of recruiters can
be unfairly dismissive before they give
an older jobseeker a chance.”
ADDRESSING BIAS
While much has been written on the topic
of ageism, the dial has been very slow
to shift, says Australia’s age discrimination
commissioner, Robert Fitzgerald AM.
“There is, and has been for a very long time,
a diminished view of older people,” he says.
“The biggest reason why older persons
are not engaged in the workforce is because
of the underlying prejudices or biases
in the recruitment process by both recruiters
external to organisations and internal human
resources departments.”
The Australian HR Institute’s 2023
Employing and Retaining Older Workers
survey, conducted in partnership with
the Australian Human Rights Commission,
found that only a quarter of the nearly
300 HR professionals surveyed were open
to hiring people aged 65 and above “to a
large extent”.
Engaging older workers is not just
a social responsibility, it is also an economic
imperative. With people living and working
46 INTHEBLACK April 2025
longer, the workforce participation rate
(who are employed or actively seeking
employment) in Australia for those over
65 is currently at 16 per cent, having doubled
since October 2006.
Fitzgerald points out, “That figure should
be considerably higher going forward.
We’ve got to create an environment where
people continue to want to work and are
able to work subject to their capacity.”
The Intergenerational Report 2023
by Australia’s Treasury shows that the
population will continue to age over
the next 40 years, with the number
of Australians aged 65 and over more
than doubling. This trend is global
and is already playing out in countries
like Singapore, Malaysia and China where
older workers are becoming a growing
segment of the workforce.
Fitzgerald believes that “older workers
wish to work for longer periods, and an
increasing number need to work for longer
periods. Our economy also requires older
people to be engaged in the workforce.”
It is a similar story in New Zealand,
reflected in the numbers on the
Seniors@work site, Fraser adds.
The types of positions advertised range from
administrative and office roles to customer
service and warehouse, as well as payroll
and accounts, health care and caregiving,
and driving roles.
“We’ve got about 6000 registered
jobseekers on the site. The roles are across
the board and are suitable for people over
50,” he says.
“There are some employers who proactively
encourage and welcome mature jobseekers,
and they list with us on a regular basis.
“Others we approach may say that they
are attracting applicants across all age groups,
and they don’t need us, which is great
if that is what they are actually doing
and it translates into hiring people of all
ages,” Fraser says.
