LEADING businesses are calling on employers across Scotland to do more to retain and recruit older workers, saying harnessing the benefits that older workers can bring to workplaces and the economy is more important than ever.
The call has won the support of Jamie Hepburn, Scotland’s Minister for Employability and Training, who said firms need to better understand the changing nature of the labour market.
A Business in the Community Scotland (BITC Scotland) conference in Edinburgh saw Hepburn meet leading Scottish businesses, including Scottish Water, BT, Barclays and Glenmorangie to discuss examples of best practice.
Between 2005 and 2015 the number of people working over the age of 50 in the UK increased by 2.5 million. By 2022, the UK economy will need to fill 14.5 million job vacancies created by people leaving the workforce and by new positions being created. It is estimated that there will only be seven million young people available to fill them – leaving a labour shortage of 7.7 million people. Currently, a million older people not in work want to work – if just half of these were to move into employment GDP would increase by up to £88 billion a year.
The event coincides with the launch of Business in the Community’s new report, Age in the Workplace, which is supported by the Centre for Ageing Better and advises employers on how to implement practical changes to create age friendly workplaces.
The Age in the Workplace report focuses on three key themes – Retain, Retrain and Recruit – and shares good practice, with recommendations for a more inclusive workforce in which employees in later life can continue to make a valuable contribution.
Examples include ensuring all line managers are offered adequate training and guidance relevant to managing the careers of people at all ages and stages of their careers, enabling remote working or flexible hours to support people working longer and investigating best practice in offline recruitment methods. Enabling older people to stay in work will bring benefits to individuals, to businesses and to the UK economy.
Hepburn said: “The Scottish Government is acutely alert to the challenge of supporting our multi-generational workforce.
“Changing demographics and an ageing population is a good sign of the progress we have made through better health services and advances in medicine, but they also create challenges and opportunities in the labour market for us all to respond to.
“Business in the Community’s Age in the Workplace report highlights the need for Scotland’s businesses to understand the nature of a labour market where people are working longer, share best practice when it comes to retention, and support the retraining and recruitment of our older workers as well as our apprentices. It is great to see the organisation convening its Scottish business members as we look to take forward the Labour Market Strategy I published in August.”
Jane Wood, the managing director of Business in the Community Scotland, said: “As the convening body for responsible business in Scotland, Business in the Community Scotland is working together with business leaders and the Scottish Government to ensure that retaining, retraining and recruiting older workers remains a priority in policy and practice.”
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