Some believe that they are too old to change careers and that they have to stay where they are. The first thought is that a career change will require years of training and/or reskilling which they don’t have time for.
It is regularly reported in government statistics that the average length of time that a mature age person will be out of work is between 60-70 weeks. The impact here is that this is when loss of confidence and low self-esteem sets in, creating negative attitudes to job seeking. They will become angry and disenchanted with job search. I occasionally describe some of the people we see who have reached this stage as “well balanced”, as they now have a chip on both shoulders. Whilst I joke, these are serious issues that need to be addressed and overcome.
In a report by National Seniors in 2013 on, Age Discrimination in the Labour Market:
Just over half (53%) of non-employed people reported that age-attributed job search exclusion influenced their desire to work. Also, over one-fifth (22%) of employed people who reported experiencing age-attributed job search exclusion said that it influenced their desire to work more hours.
We have found that apart from one on one counselling the best remedy for the loss of confidence and self-esteem is being part of a volunteer group or learning new skills through group training. Very quickly people tend to overcome the fear that they don’t have current skills or can’t contribute and can see they do have the ability to move into employed situations.
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