HR file: Harnessing the benefits of older workers

Many of us are expected to live until we are 100 and therefore more likely to be working well into our 70s. As the recent Future of an Ageing Population report from the Government Office for Science highlights, future economic growth will be increasingly dependent on the ability to increase the number of older workers. Research shows the UK’s GDP would have been around £100 billion higher between 2003 and 2013 if we had the same level of older worker employment as Sweden. We must therefore do more to harness the potential of those aged 50 and over.

The business case for recruiting and retaining older workers is also clear. Employers could soon face labour supply shortages; between 2012 and 2022, there will be 12.5 million job vacancies from people leaving the workforce and an additional two million new jobs will be created. With only seven million new young people entering the workforce, recruiting and retaining older workers will be critical. Evidence shows that retaining people aged 50 and over in employment does not mean fewer jobs for young people. In addition, changes in immigration policy could make it more difficult to fill this gap with migrant workers in the future.