19 March 2008

Teaching old dogs new tricks

With recruitment issues continuing to dog the hospitality and travel industry landscape, TMS Asia-Pacific has pointed employers towards what it says represents one of the best available sources of candidates for years to come Ã¢â¬' the over 50Ã¢â¬â¢s.

TMS General Manager Australia/New Zealand, Ainslie Hunt, said huge effort continued to be channeled into understanding the Ã¢â¬ËœGen Ã¢â¬ËœYÃ¢â¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ factor and how to best attract and retain employees from the younger end of town.

But employers would also do well to address the upper end of the age scale Ã¢â¬' and in particular the over 50Ã¢â¬â¢s.

Citing research released this month by global business consultancy Mercer, Ms Hunt said that in just four years the number of Australian workers aged 55 and over will increase by 14 per cent.

This is in stark contrast to the 25-54 year demographic which is expected to increase by just five (5) per cent over the same period.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe Boomers represent one of the best sources of available candidates for years to come,Ã¢â¬~ she said.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœIt really is time for organisations to start becoming more flexible in their approach and look beyond candidates starting out in their careers as the only source of potential talent,Ã¢â¬~ she said.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœOverall the travel and hospitality industry still leans heavily towards recruiting younger staff."

Ã¢â¬ÅâœBut some employers are in fact beginning to see the light and had begun actively seeking to recruit older employees."

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThere remain a good deal of negative perceptions when it comes to older workers."

Ã¢â¬ÅâœPeople often think that older workers canÃ¢â¬â¢t operate basic office machinery such as computers and are slow on the uptake when it comes to learning new systems which is complete nonsense."

Ã¢â¬ÅâœIn reality, the over 50Ã¢â¬â¢s are as keen as mustard to get on with the job, in many cases they offer more experience than their younger colleagues and they are always ready to learn a new skill.Ã¢â¬~

A Report by The Mole