The following article was published on the Hertfordshire Mercury website looking at a study by an Anglia Ruskin University academic who has suggested that work is becoming less “age-friendly” and that older jobseekers are less likely to get the job…
A new study reveals that older jobseekers in the UK are over four times less likely to be offered an interview than a younger applicant with identical skills and interests.
These results were discovered after researchers at Anglia Ruskin University applied for 1,836 jobs advertised between July 2013 and May 2015. The CVs used were for a 28-year-old and 50-year-old applicant, with almost identical skills and interests.
Dr Nick Drydakis, Reader in Economics at Anglia Ruskin University who was commissioned by People Management magazine to lead the project, said: “Our study suggests that work is becoming less age-friendly, not more, and that older people have to spend more time and effort than younger people to obtain an interview.
Those involved in recruiting need to be trained to carry out age-sensitive selection processes, and the Government should require firms to have ‘ageing at work’ policies.”
It was discovered that despite the older applicant having significantly more experience than the younger candidate, they were still 4.2 times less likely to be offered an interview.
The difference was even more pronounced for women, with the 50-year-old female candidate 5.3 times less likely to get an interview than the 28-year-old female.
Jobs in the factory and industrial sector had the highest barrier to entry, with the 50-year-old female applicant being 25 times less likely to be offered an interview.
Meanwhile, older male applicants were 3.6 times less likely to be offered an interview than their younger counterpart.
The study also found there was no significant link between a company having a HR department or providing written commitments to equal opportunities, and the level of discrimination displayed.
Dr Drydakis added: “With an ageing population and the official retirement age creeping upwards, this is an issue that needs to be tackled. Simeply encouraging older people to re-enter 2the labour force may not guarantee that they will be able to find jobs in a timely manner, if at all.”
Source: HertfordshireMercury.co.uk
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