Workforce failings: ageism ignores the experience and expertise of older Aussies

Why put people out to pasture because they have hit what we classify as a use-by date?

That’s the question Wurtulla woman Anne Alvos poses, given that Australia has reached full employment for the first time since the 1970s, yet the “job vacancy” listings and “help wanted” signs continue to go up everywhere.

Anne reckons Australia should be acknowledging the untapped experience, expertise and wisdom of retirees and older Australians and encouraging them back to the workforce as one possible solution to the crisis.

Worker shortages are being felt across the board in industries from hospitality to construction, as well as medical and aged care services, as Australia’s unemployment rate hovers around almost 50-year lows.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics puts the nation’s current unemployment rate at 3.4 per cent, down from 3.5 per cent for the past couple of months and equal to a low set in July this year.