Our ageing population and projected shortfalls in pension provision are prompting a rethink on the issue of older workers, writes John Cradden

IF YOU are an older worker in your 50s or 60s, yours is probably the last generation that will be permitted to retire at 65.

Figures issued last week by EU statistics agency Eurostat predict that, by 2060, there will be 6.7 million people living in the Republic, a 52 per cent increase on the current 4.4 million. By then, Ireland's population is also expected to be significantly older, with the ratio of pensioners to working-age Irish people rising to 43 per cent from 16 per cent.

The reality of our growing but rapidly aging population, combined with longer and healthier lifespans, shortfalls in pension provision and the likelihood of labour shortages in the long term, is prompting a serious rethink on the issue of older workers.

For many workers, the idea of having to work beyond retirement age will undoubtedly be horrible; others may understand and be more accepting of this new reality.

But so far, employers here are showing few signs of acknowledging the issue, never mind planning ahead.

According to recruitment firm Manpower Ireland, employers are facing a potentially serious talent shortage in the near future. Ireland has one of the highest employment rates for the 60-64 age group, at 43 per cent. That means a significant percentage of the workforce is set to retire in the next five to 10 years.

Manpower undertook a major survey last year on older workers, which showed that only 26 per cent of 665 Irish employers surveyed had implemented retention strategies to keep older staff members in the workforce.

The same survey also showed that only 9 per cent of employers have strategies in place to recruit older workers (those aged 50+).

Complaints about ageism at work are on the rise. In July this year, the Equality Authority revealed that age is now the most common ground for workplace discrimination claims, accounting for almost one-quarter of all case files opened by the authority in 2007.

Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, says: "The age ground predominantly involves allegations of discrimination by older workers. Age limits in the workplace are the focus for many of these allegations, including fixed retirement ages.

"It is clear from the case files that there are significant numbers of older people who do not want to be forced to retire."

"We've been conditioned for a long, long time as a society, not just as a business community, to pick a certain age beyond which you have to move on," says Ciarán Williams of Manpower Ireland.

"But it's wrong to do that because a lot of these people have a lot of skills, a lot of ability, and a lot of them can be retrained."

Williams is manager of Manpower Mature, a division of Manpower Ireland that was set up last year as a corporate social responsibility initiative following the findings of its older worker survey. It provides assistance to the over-50s in getting back into the workforce, but also approaches clients with a view to opening their minds to taking on older workers.

A big issue, says Williams, is overcoming a long-standing attitude that assumes only young people can bring dynamism or vigour to the workforce.

Such attitudes seem to have unfairly poisoned employers' views of older workers, says John Forde, chairman of Chambers Ireland's human resources policy council and HR director of Celtic Linen. "Now that these people are entering into the twilight of their lives, why are we putting them, or proceeding to put them, on the scrapheap?"

Employers are quick to judge a job candidate too old without really asking why, says Williams. "If they're 52, they could stay to retirement age. If they're 60, they'll get five years out of them. There's no guarantee that a 24-year-old will stay on 20 years. Most people move jobs every two or three years, and many are . . . changing careers too."

Both Williams and Forde agree that a review of employment legislation would do much to change attitudes, particularly if it considers abolishing obligatory retirement ages and extending protection to workers over 65. "We need to consolidate our legislation and make if far simpler and far more understandable," says Forde.

Schemes and other statutory mechanisms designed to help employers recruit and retain older workers do exist, but awareness of them is low. For instance, according to a 2006 labour force survey by Chambers Ireland/Age Action, only 31 per cent of companies were aware that, under the Employment Equality Act, their company can positively discriminate in favour of those over 50 when recruiting.

The same survey also showed that employers considered that older workers outperform younger workers in several areas, including productivity, attendance rates and reliability. This is a noteworthy finding, given that Irish small businesses lost some €793 million through absenteeism from work in 2007, according to a survey published last month by the Small Firms' Association.

Williams says many of his clients now see strategic advantages to hiring older workers. "I have a number of clients who are hiring older people because they have better patience in coping with what can be very run-of-the-mill, boring and mundane jobs."

He stresses that this does not just relate to low-level jobs. "I'm talking about jobs in major financial institutions that are very data-driven and information-driven but, because it's so repetitive, the younger workers are walking out of the jobs because they're bored and want to go travelling the world," he says.

Furthermore, many older workers are in a situation where they have paid off their mortgage and their kids have left home, which makes them more willing and able to downsize in terms of salary or working hours, according to Williams.