Over-55s see age as a major barrier to employment

Don't be too hard on young Manders; it can't be easy coming to terms with the knowledge that your inevitable destiny is to become that which you tolerate least. There is an alternative, but it's not good.
Meanwhile I would suggest that before the irresistible, relative acceleration of time kicks in, he should meditate on every meaning of the word 'senior'.

John Manders, what a blinkered opinion, (not to mention very insulting, degrading and discriminatory).

I assume you are one of the “Old folk” who “struggle to do more than very ????? computer work” since you managed to miss a word out of your own sentence!

As head of HR (and the other side of 50) I can tell you that from my experience the “young people” with all this “energy, drive and enthusiasm” are generally lower performers, have less stamina, have more sick absence than their older counterparts, and produce product of an inferior quality.
Without the experience the older members of the work force provide, the company I work for would not be as successful as it is.

Yes, there are exceptions. But this works both ways!

John Manders - " We’ve got old folks here who can’t use an Outlook calendar, can’t dock their mobiles with their PCs and struggle to do more than very computer work. They spend all their time reminiscing about how things were and how you can’t do that anymore instead of learning, adapting and moving on".

I dont know where "here" is but it would have been useful if your employer had given these "old folk" some T & D so that they could do the aforementioned computer tasks so that they can be more efficient members of your work community.

In my experience most "older" folk, as you like to call them, welcome learning new skills, even my 82 year old father goes to computer lessons with his wife and those classes are booked up solid. My husband at 65 is just starting a new business having taken and passed exams in a different profession only ten years ago. I "taught" myself to rebuild a computer a few years ago having no computer knowledge what so ever a few years before that. if you have the right encouragement and not surrounded by young patronising people always trying to make you feel you are past it, you would be surprised what those "older folk" can do with their knowledge. At least we dont expect everything handed to us on a plate, which is the modern "baggage" of the younger generation.

"Young people don't come with all this baggage".
"Old folks...:insert stereotype here:...".

Mr. Manders expertly demonstrates why the Equality Act 2010 (and its preceding legislation) is so very badly needed.

Assuming of course that the younger employee has something resembling numeracy and literacy skills, and the ability to interact with something other than a plasma screen TV. and games console. (Is that a stereotype?)

John, You have made two excellent points:
1) "Employers need to recognise the difference between calendar and psychological age." - Yep, there are as many young fogies as there are inexperienced young 'tearaways' who will dive into anything and mess it up; together they probably outnumber more experienced people - and of course that implies 'older' people - who understand that to stand still is to go backwards, that continuous improvement and innovation are the lifeblood of business but that change, although essential, can frequently have unforeseen effects.
2) "Of course, not everyone fits the stereotype." You said it, it's a stereotype which, in my view and, I suspect, the view of a good many employment lawyers amounts to discrimination.
There will come a time when you have to face new technology that nobody can be bothered to introduce to you properly and some young clever dick will be accusing you of being unable to do this or that. We should all remember that there are some people in this country who leave school unable to read, write or do simple arithmetic; this is rarely anything to do with their inherent abilities, it is more frequently the fault of the environment in which they learnt and worked.

Experience? heard it before. Translation, stuck in the past, unable to do things differently or grasp new ideas, generally think they’ve seen it all and won’t change. We’ve got old folks here who can’t use an Outlook calendar, can’t dock their mobiles with their PCs and struggle to do more than very computer work. They spend all their time reminiscing about how things were and how you can’t do that anymore instead of learning, adapting and moving on.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard old folks say they used to service their own cars but you can’t do that on modern ones because they’re so complicated and you need a computer to do anything. In other words, I’ve lifted the bonnet and shut it quickly because it’s different and I can’t be bothered to learn about it.

Young people don’t come with all this baggage. They have energy, drive and enthusiasm for new ideas.

Of course, not everyone fits the stereotype. Employers need to recognise the difference between calendar and psychological age.

I agree with Martin in that I would also prefer not to work for a company so blinkered that it cannot see beyond a person's age to understand their worth to the business. The problem is that this view may help to perpetuate ageism in the immediate short term but, over time, such employers will be forced to change their approach. However I hope that by then these companies' reputations will have gone before them in the way that Gareth describes.

To be honest I am glad I did not get the job. Everyone I know who has worked for that company has horror stories to tell. I do not know a single person who has worked for them who can say they are good to work for.

This is certainly not a new phenomenom. This practice has been going on for years and always will.

Unless people challenge this through focused approach. If you have the basic qualifications and proven skills, then anything extra is a bonus to any employer.

The point is are you willing to go the distance in challenging their decision? Even if you do, would you really want to work for them if they discriminate in such a way? and of course even if you won your case, how comfortable would you or your employer feel really?

I think we have to be more pragmatic, if tht's an employes approach then it will be someone deeply ingrained in their culture. I for one would not want to work for such an employer as they really are a people focused organisation.

The times I have heard that!
I applied for a job with a famous company who provide mobile phones, at the same time as a colleague of mine applied. She was in her 20's, I was in my 40's. She applied for a more junior role and was rejected, I was told I was "over qualified", although my colleague had better "related" qualifications than I did, and the job paid 50% better than my current role paid, and provided a company car, which I did not have with the current role.
The company is well known for employing younger people.
The strange thing is, that until they knew my age, they were interested in my CV for the role, but as soon as they knew my age, I was suddenly "over qualified"!

I wonder if there is covert discrimination within employment agencies and employers. I have a friend who has recent experience of rejected job applications on the basis that he is 'over qualified' for positions which are very senior and quite appropriate to his qualifications, skills, salary and experience.

I quite agree, I have recently undergone 2 years of personal development to update and gain qualifications to validate my experience and knowledge. There is a lot of age discrimination carried out by recruitment agencies on behalf of clients, and they get away with it. That puts the 50+ age group out of the job market when in reality they have more to offer.

The problem here is age discrimination and although there is a legal framework to challenge such discrimination it's still little used, It has yet to grow teeth and bite! Of course older people bring extra knowledge and skills to any situation, research also shows that age mixed teams perform best, so the social and economic benefits are clear. As the number of young workers continues to decline, employers will increasingly view the 'older' worker as a great potential recruit.

What really worries me is twofold. Firstly, employers are too slow to pick up on this and are 'washing' out talent, corporate knowledge, proven ability , and loyality during this economic downturn and are not providing older workers with training and development opportunities and secondly, ageism is one area of discrimination that people unwittingly internalise. How many times do you here someone say, Oh Im having a 'senior moment!", or 'I'm too old now!" Nonsense!

Life limiting from any point of view.

55 plus is not old, when life expectancy is pushing well up into the 80's and 90's. Plus we stay healthier. If you want to refresh your approach and re-energise your older employees, and stay ahead of your competitors, invest in T&D for your older workers NOW.