THE foretold dystopian future is already here. I am nearly 60 and have spent the past 12 months unemployed; unable for the most part to even get an interview.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
I have retrained and am hoping to transition to a career in the welfare/care sector, where age discrimination isn't rife. This brings me to Joe Hockey's simplistic utterings that "my generation has to work an extra three years".
While I find the cant objectionable, I don't disagree with the logic. But that falls in a heap in the face of entrenched discrimination against mature-age workers.
There have been numerous 'program' launches over the years to tackle the issue, yet little has changed.
The problem lies with the devolvement of responsibility for recruitment to human resources departments, and their inability to engage with the issue.
My experience of being asked "most of my team are significantly younger than you. How will that work?" may be unusual (in that most interviewers are at least smart enough to hide their discrimination), but the sentiment is not.
Discrimination is illegal and plain stupid, but age discrimination remains rampant.
