Difficulties in finding staff are not specific to the United Kingdom. The pandemic has made many people reassess their life’s priorities, and many are using what they experienced during lockdown to rebuild their lives in a different way. In the United Kingdom, the end of freedom of movement and lockdown contributed to a perfect storm in the job market. People who lost their job during the lockdown may have found another way to earn a living. Those who would have moved to the UK from the EU to take their place now cannot just hop on a bus or a flight and come (unless they are Irish citizens).
According to the Office for National Statistics, in the three months to November 2021, UK job vacancies hit an all-time high of more than 1.2 million across most industries, with the numbers continuing to rise. Some companies have invested in technology to reduce their requirement for people, but that is not always possible. Lateral thinking made other firms look to people from different business sectors whose soft skills allowed them to fill the vacancies quickly. Many decided to look at mature workers.
The approach varies. For instance, the Phoenix Group, one of the most prominent British insurance groups, banned the words “energetic” and “enthusiastic” from its job advert because they deter older applicants. Another company, Azets, an accountancy firm with more than 7,000 employees, decided to fill ten percent of its vacancies with people who were either retired or on career breaks. The scheme generated over a hundred applications they would not have previously received.
Firms that expect to “drop” a newly hired employee into a role immediately have found it more challenging to find people. They have to invest in training and career development. Targeting those who left the workforce because they took early retirement, career breaks, maternity leaves, or those who left to care for an elderly parent could be the only way to limit their investment. Companies specifically targeting over-55s are still in a minority, but those who do have access to a broader talent pool. They can also benefit from having in-house mentors that might help younger colleagues to grow professionally.
In any situation, when resources are scarce, people competing for those resources try to find ways to differentiate from the others and become more attractive. Some job vacancy advertisements list “Grandparents’ leave” among the benefits offered with the package that comes with the role. Could it be the beginning of the end of ageism?
