As a professional resume writer, I see older folk battling to get work. Any sort of work. When I worked in Canberra for Labour Market Strategy, this was a key area for me and I spoke on it at conferences in Adelaide and the east coast of Australia. The story below is from ABC 7:30 Report (5 March 2019)
LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Australia’s workforce is ageing, with most people retiring later in life. That means employers are confronting a new challenge – a workforce that spans more generations than ever before, forcing bosses to manage expectations and experience for workers from their teens to their 70s. Michael Vincent reports.
PHILIP TAYLOR, SHIPBUILDER: If I get away from the water too far, I start to break out in a cold sweat. So I like turning up and seeing the water. I like being on the water on the weekends. And I like putting my head on the pillow and looking at the water at night. My family’s been on this river since 1836. We’ve had six generations of boat builders in the family since then.
MICHAEL VINCENT, REPORTER: As Hobart shipbuilder Philip Taylor surveys his business today, he’s well aware that some of his workers were born just 19 years ago, while others began life back in the middle of last century.
PHILIP TAYLOR: The respect for the younger generation has grown. Back then, you used to get a few hammers and things thrown at you, ’cause that’s not allowed anymore. We always get an apprentice and put him with one of the older guys – the older guys have got a little bit more patience.
MICHAEL VINCENT: For the first time, Australia is confronting a workforce with more generations than ever before. From baby boomers through to Gen X, Gen Y, to millennials, with all the challenges and opportunities that brings.
For the full story go to:
I also wrote a story for InDaily in Adelaide along similar lines:
“The calculus of despair”: how recruiters condemn older workers to unemployment