‘The UK faces and over-50s
Over 50? Don’t worry, it is never too late to begin a fresh career. In fact, as the UK faces a major skills gap and working lives are being extended as life expectancy rises, the Government is encouraging companies to commit to employing older workers.
Andy Briggs, chief executive of Aviva UK Life, is calling on UK employers to publicly commit to employing 12% more older workers by 2022.
Mr Briggs, who is also the Government’s business champion for older workers, said employers should publish their workforce data by age.
Aviva, Atos, Barclays, the Cooperative Group, Home Instead Senior Care, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), Mercer, and Walgreens Boots Alliance are the first employers to publicly pledge their commitment to meeting this target and have already published their age data.
Mr Briggs said: “The UK is facing a colossal skills gap, and older workers are vital to filling it.
“Businesses can show leadership here, through committing to real change and actively seeking to recruit more over-50s into their organisations.”
Bringing more people over the age of 55 into the workforce could also boost the UK economy by £80bn, says PwC.
The professional services giant conducted the research for its Golden Age Index, which found the UK’s employment rate for 50 to 64-year-olds is currently 70%, with England faring best at 70.6% and Northern Ireland worst at 63.6%.
Regional differences are attributed to economic performance, educational attainment and gender divides.
PwC said matching Sweden, the best-performing EU nation in the list at 82%, could deliver the extra £80bn, boosting the UK’s GDP by 4.2%.
The company’s chief economist John Hawksworth said: “As the number of people over 55 continues to grow steadily and life expectancy increases, the UK needs to make it as easy as possible for people to continue working for longer if they wish to do so.
“This would boost both GDP and tax revenues, so helping to pay for the increased health, social care and pension costs of an ageing population.”
There are almost a million people aged between 50-64 who are not in employment but who state that they are willing to or would like to work, says a report published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Someone in their early 50s, however, can potentially stay with their employer for 15 to 20 years or longer, says the report.
Despite this, 11.3% of those starting an apprenticeship in 201516 were aged between 45-59, while less than 1% were aged 60 years and over.
The vast majority of apprenticeships were taken up by those in younger age groups.
The Government is now rolling out “older claimant champions” to job centres across the country, in a bid to raise awareness about apprenticeships to those over 60.
Currently there are a handful of these, but the number will be increased almost fivefold. So what are the opportunities for older people in the workplace?
Banking giant Barclays has established the Barclays Bolder Apprenticeship programme, designed to extend opportunities for apprenticeships across the organisation, specifically provid-