Posts Tagged “senior jobs”

STEPHEN DRILL HERALD SUN SEPTEMBER 09, 2014

AUSTRALIA is not producing enough quality jobs to keep up with population increases and the problem is getting worse, a new report shows.

The OECD report released on Tuesday reveals unless economic growth rises the jobs market will be filled with low paying jobs.

“The current growth trajectory, if unchanged, will not create enough quality jobs — give rising to the risk that the jobs gap will remain substantial,” the report says.

“Underemployment and informal employment will rise and sluggish growth in wages and incomes will continue to place downward pressure on consumption, living standards and global aggregate demand.”

The report also reveals that the gap between the highest paid and lowest paid workers was also widening.

The warning comes as employment ministers from G20 countries are meeting in Melbourne this week to discuss the global employment outlook.

The group’s membership includes Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and South East Asian and South American countries.

Australian Employment Minister Eric Abetz, US secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Britain’s Minister of State for Employment Esther McVey, who are in Melbourne for the meeting, all argued economic growth must continue to rise.

Mr Abetz said he expected jobs growth in agriculture, mining, services and aged care sectors.

“Business as usual will continue to see that jobs gap, that is in nobody’s interest, economic or socially,” he said.

He said free trade agreements with South Korea and reducing red tape would create jobs.

Tom Perez, US secretary of labor, said higher economic growth would create jobs.

“It’s undeniable one of our challenges in the US and across the G20 is to pick up the pace of growth,” he said.

“We are debating how we stimulate consumption… transportation infrastructure investments which are very real issues. Those not only address critical infrastructure, they create good middle class jobs.”

He said cyber security was an emerging sector.

Ms McVey said youth unemployment was dropping in the UK and that schools needed to teach subjects that led to jobs, particularly in science.

She said the private sector had picked up 2 million jobs in Britain since 2010.

“We really needed to look at rebalancing the economy — jobs right across the board,” she said.

stephen.drill@news.com.au

Posted at 8:59am Monday 08 Sep, 2014 | By Merle Foster merle@thesun.co.nz

Removing the stigma surrounding employing older people and making businesses realise the ageing population’s enormous opportunity is the aim of a city forum this month.

Tauranga’s older residents and business people are encouraged to attend the Older Workforce Forum, hosted by Age Concern Tauranga and Chamber of Commerce.


Mitre 10 MEGA Tauranga team members Noel Meredith, 70, Dave Watson, 71, and Dave Semple, 74, with general manager Wayne Mansell. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Age Concern fundraising manager Michael Vujnovich says the forum will discuss the ‘why, how and spin-offs’ of workforce generation change.

“We’re trying to raise people’s awareness of the issue of an ageing workforce but enable them to realise there is an enormous opportunity here.

“If we continue with our old, outdated model of what it means to be getting old we’ll continue to fail to address the issues that confront older people and fail to address opportunities they present to employers and society as a whole.”

Guest speakerElders Forum chair Max Lewis says “65 is the new 45”. He believes older workers have as many benefits as others, just different.

“We need to lift the perception of age as being a positive. We’ve got to stop this perceived bias. We have so many talented people, and they want to be working.”

“If you can get them working where their strengths are, they can be offering advice and knowledge to younger staff, you’re getting 30 years of knowledge and experience.”

Max also sees Tauranga as the pace-setter for the whole country.

Mega Mitre 10 Tauranga general manager Wayne Mansell knows the benefits of older workers and will talk about his company’s diversity-friendly policies in action.

“The reason we look at employing people a bit older is simply experience – they have the knowledge and they also have the integrity of the work ethic.

“We have a number of retiree plumber and builders who’ve worked in the building game in the past and are looking to continue to stay in the workforce – and we’re happy to oblige.”

Wayne says older staff are also more flexible.

“They’re willing part-time or full-time hours, extra days don’t have issues around working weekends.”

An open floor discussion with the speaker panel will finish the forum on Thursday, September 18 from 8.30am-2.30pm at Mt Club, Totara St, Mount Maunganui.

– See more at: http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/81916-forum-proving-older-workers-worth.html#sthash.i7Dgy7UT.dpuf

 The Drum, 2 Septembert 2014

Emily Millane, Research Fellow
The Drum Unleashed, 2 September 2014

Our retirement income system is now skewed so heavily towards the wealthy in our society that we’re not just at risk of going nowhere, we risk going backwards, writes Emily Millane.It’s always slightly unnerving when the airline you’re flying with says it needs to take some time to redistribute the weight on the aircraft before you take off. Visions of a plane dragging one wing along the runway with sparks flying everywhere tend to ensue.

The fact is, the distribution of an aircraft’s weight needs to be calibrated in such a way that the thing can get off the ground, and back onto it, safely. And so it is with our tax and transfer system.

Distribute it right and you’re off; get the distribution wrong and society is on a fast track to nowhere.

Per Capita’s recent report, The Entitlement of Age, argues that, together, increasing longevity and rising inequality are making Australia’s retirement income system unsustainable. The structure of the system, combined with the distribution of benefits, is skewed so heavily towards the wealthy in our society that we’re not just at risk of going nowhere, we risk going backwards.

Notwithstanding differences as a result of race, education and socio-economic status, on average Australians have very high life expectancies. Indigenous Australians are the notable exception to this average

Per Capita’s findings show that we are living longer than previously estimated, largely as a result of declining mortality rates. We need to plan for longer lives, and we need incomes to pay for them.

The current system will not deliver retirement security, even if Australians work until they are 70. Some Australians will move into older age well funded but women, the low-paid and those in insecure work will not.

Per Capita’s research, using four different scenarios, shows that a woman retiring in 2049 who has children and works a mix of full-time and part-time hours will have only 60 per cent of the superannuation balance of a man the same age as her, a deficit of $358,000.

The way in which superannuation is taxed compounds the income insecurity faced by vulnerable groups. The concessional rate of tax on superannuation income relative to ordinary income, known as “superannuation tax concessions”, favours those with higher incomes.

If the Government is successful in removing the Low Income Superannuation Contribution, people on low incomes will pay more on their superannuation contributions than they do on ordinary income.

More than 50 per cent of the superannuation tax concessions go to the wealthiest 20 per cent Australians. At the same time, Per Capita’s annual tax survey showed that 42 per cent of people on incomes of $200,000 and above consider that the best way to pay for longer lives is through further superannuation tax concessions.

As detailed by the ACTU recently, the IMF has found that Australia foregoes more through tax expenditures than all other advanced economies it analysed. The largest areas of expenditure are housing and superannuation tax concessions.

What does all of this tell us? It tells us that people on the highest incomes have come to see the beneficial tax treatment of their superannuation as an entitlement. It tells us that any effort to change the shape of tax on superannuation to make it fairer will require political courage. It also tells us that change is necessary.

The Government’s proposed alterations to the age pension, particularly in respect of indexation, will mean that it does not provide a safety net from poverty. It is those same groups that are disadvantaged by the superannuation system that will face further financial precariousness as a result of these changes – the women, the low-paid and those engaged in insecure work.

Australia’s spending on the age pension is going up; no one is arguing with that. However, as the Treasurer found out with his comments in respect of the fuel excise, it’s the proportion of income that matters. Australia spends about 3.5 per cent of its GDP on the age pension compared with an average spend by other wealthy counties of 7.8 per cent of GDP.

So what of it? What does it matter that some people will have overseas holidays and theatre shows to look forward to in later life, while others will sit at home watching daytime TV? Or that some people will see medical specialists while others will put off seeing the GP?

It matters because these questions go to the issue of human dignity. Australians are entitled to incomes sufficient for a dignified life.

More broadly, these questions go to the issue of what sort of society we understand Australia to be. Whether we are all on this journey together, or whether it is OK that there is an increasing distance between people in economy, and the class of people who haven’t seen the back of a plane in years.

Brent Peppercorn and his grandmother Linda Goldsmith, at right, who have been touring NSW with the Living Well Navigator meet Wollongong's Susan Barnett. Picture: GREG TOTMAN

Brent Peppercorn and his grandmother Linda Goldsmith, at right, who have been touring NSW with the Living Well Navigator meet Wollongong’s Susan Barnett.

Almost half of NSW baby boomers have had to face age discrimination, according to an NRMA survey.

The survey was carried out as part of the research into a new website – Living Well Navigator – directed at the over 50s.

Forty per cent of the respondents said they have experienced age discrimination themselves or knew of someone who had.

In addition, 37 per cent of people over 50 have little confidence they would be treated fairly in a job interview.

Peter Khoury from the NRMA said this was concerning, especially given the federal government’s plan to push back the retirement age to 70.

Mr Khoury said businesses needed to adjust to the realities that come with the ageing baby boomer population.

“There’s a lot of debate about the working age being extended, which means a lot of Australian companies need to be prepared for the fact that their workforce is going to be older than it used to be,” Mr Khoury said.

With more than half of the NRMA’s membership over the age of 50, the Navigator site aims to provide support for those looking to get back into the workforce.

“The Living Well Navigator site assists older workers by providing information on how to get jobs and volunteering information as well as hosting a jobs board to connect older workers with age-friendly employers,” said NRMA local director Michael Tynan.

“The site aims to bust common myths and stereotypes on ageing. Those north of 50 have comprehensive knowledge, are highly skilled, active and make valuable contributions to our society.”

The website provides a wide range of information for the over-50s – including work, health, travel and supported and independent living.

Source:  Illawarra Mercury

Date :   September 2, 2014 
Phillip Thomson

Public Service Reporter at The Canberra Times.

The main union representing public servants says the Department of Human Services has removed a clause enshrining the employment of people from diverse backgrounds from its draft bargaining agreement.

The major department employing about 30,000 staff is being closely watched during negotiations because haggling over its future agreement, which was much further ahead than at many other Commonwealth employers, was expected to set at least part of the agenda across the federal bureaucracy.

The clause was one mechanism in the existing agreement to ensure the department enforced a separate plan, titled the Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

The strategy has committed the department to employing more people with disabilities, mature age workers and staff from culturally and linguistically diverse background.

Its clearest goal was to make sure 5 per cent of its staff were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders by 2015, which would mean the department would have more than 1500 indigenous workers out of its 34,700-strong workforce in a little more than a year.

The department said it was on track to exceed the 5 per cent target

“As at July 2014, the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in the department was 4 per cent, well above the Australian Public Service average of 2.3 per cent as at June 2013,” a department spokeswoman said. “We are also a major employer of people with disability.

“As at July 2014, 4.9 per cent employees of the department identified as having a disability.

“We are a leader in workplace diversity in the Australian Public Service, and so we should be as a large department providing vital services to the community.

“Any suggestion that this is not the case is absolutely without substance.”

The Community and Public Sector Union’s log of claims for all its negotiations affecting 160,000 federal public servants said the union wanted to include a paragraph committing to diversity as well as recruitment and retention strategies.

The department spokeswoman said the public service bargaining framework, handed down by the Abbott government to set the boundaries for the bureaucracy’s managerial representatives during negotiations, clearly stated enterprise agreements should not include terms dealing with matters more properly dealt with by legislation.

“The department’s workplace diversity and inclusion strategy is in line with the legislative requirements set out in the Public Service Act 1999,” the spokeswoman said.

“This strategy is available on the department’s website and intranet.

“It is ingrained in our mandatory training schedule.

“This strategy is our formal commitment to a workplace culture that builds respects, fosters inclusiveness, promotes diversity and embraces the unique skills and qualities of all our employees.”

Source:  Canberra Times

 

Some job applicants just always get it right. Here is why. You know… the type that gets it right from the moment the recruiter or hiring manager spots them for the first time. They simply get noticed.

I regularly remind my clients how important it is to get the basics right if you want to be considered as a suitable candidate. It doesn’t take much if you want to get noticed and, more importantly, be remembered for the right reasons.

Here are 13 tips that will make you stand out as a candidate so you can secure your next job.

13 Tips To Get Noticed

If you want to get your application to the top of the pile and fast forward to the front of the interview queue then get your highlighter and mark some or all of these tips so you can secure your next job opportunity.

Keep hunting, there are good jobs out there, just don’t forget to hunt wisely!

Written By

Ulrich Schild – The Job Search Coach

Ulrich Schild, The founder of TheJobSearchCoach.net has actively scouted, interviewed and hired many talented candidates for a variety of employers in Australia and New Zealand while being exposed to some of the very best and worst HR and recruiting practises.Ulrich has always known that he can help and contribute his bit to make Job Search, Job Seeking and the recruiting process easier and better.

 Ageism in the Job Market

1 Monday hires RF 462947329 copy

Are we our own worst enemies? Part 1 of a series on ageism in the workplace.

“We’re looking for someone hungrier.”

“The right candidate is high energy.”

If you’re over 50 and job-hunting, chances are you’ve heard phrases like these. Or maybe you’ve been told you’re overqualified or too senior. These are code words for “too old” and they pepper the language of hiring managers nationwide. Jacquelyn James, director of research at the Sloan Center for Aging & Work at Boston College says when people are asked on surveys to rate others on the basis of age and corresponding characteristics, older people are associated with negative traits that include a lack of interest in growing and developing, inflexibility in thinking and an unwillingness to learn and adapt to new technology. “The data about those kinds of traits are very mixed and much of it is perception,” she says.  And some weren’t negative. “Older people are seen as having a good work ethic, as working harder and being more comfortable with authority.”

Add to such negative stereotypes the mistaken perception that people working into their 60s and early 70s are taking jobs from younger workers. Although arecent Pew study soundly debunked that, as does Kevin Cahill, a research economist at the Sloan Center, the belief is pervasive. Cahill says although people are retiring later, the idea that older workers need to move out of the way for younger workers is a misperception. “The argument breaks down pretty rapidly if you look beyond individual firms and over time,” he says.

See also: Top LinkedIn Tips for Job Seekers

But prejudice of any type, of course, isn’t based on fact, and much of the age bias we see in hiring is unconscious, says Jacquelyn James. That’s due, at least in part, to the fact that ageism is the least studied or examined form of discrimination. A recent paper on ageism from psychologist Susan Fiske and Michael North at Princeton University, called ageism “the most socially condoned” form of prejudice. And it has intensified. By the time people reach their mid-60s, two out of three have retired, either voluntarily or because they weren’t able to keep or find a job, according to research from Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. By age 75, nine out of ten are out of the workforce.

Among the long-term unemployed, the situation is most severe for those over 55, who face the longest period of unemployment. Carl Van Horn, director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, says although the number fluctuates, at least two million people over age 55 have been out of work more than six months and at least half of those for more than a year.

See also: How Can I Compete With People Younger Than My Kids?

Because ageism is often unconscious it’s tough to disarm. With any bias, the key to mitigation is awareness, says James. Fact is, people generally don’t think of themselves as biased. In order to fight the stereotypes—say, that older workers don’t embrace new technology—James advises job candidates be explicit with interviewers that they are eager to learn, and have history of learning and embracing new technology.

With the right strategies, job seekers can combat age-related stereotypes rather than buying into them, says James, and take steps to adapt to the changing culture of the workplace.

Speak the Same Language

“People over 50 grew up talking about their accomplishments, about what they did and how well they did it,” says Gail Palubiak, owner of Interview Academy in Denver, a job search and interview consulting firm that specializes in over-50 job seekers. “But companies today speak the language of contribution. And this is critical—because you are likely interviewing with someone who isn’t the same generation. So talk about how you served a company, not how great you are.”

Date

Belinda Merhab

Forget knitting and pie-baking – Aussie grandmas are going into business.

Australian women aged over 65 have been starting their own businesses at a rate higher than any other age group, with nantrepreneurs setting up 18,500 businesses in the past 10 years, according to the annual Bankwest Business Trends Report.

Over the past year, the number of over-65 female business owners jumped by 15.1 per cent, compared to one per cent growth by men in the same age bracket.

Bankwest business banking general manager Sinead Taylor said the figures showed older Australian women were looking for ways to boost their retirement incomes.

Over-65 women were primarily starting businesses in the `other services’ category, such as hairdressing, photography and gardening, she said.

“This trend can be attributed to a variety of factors like lifetime personal goals and people pursuing new interests,” Ms Taylor said.

“There’s also the impact of the global financial crisis on retirement nest eggs, forcing some retirees to supplement their superannuation by starting their own businesses.

“Age is certainly no barrier to entrepreneurialism.”

Overall, the number of Australians running their own business declined by four per cent in the year to May.

The only other age group to see an increase in business self-starters in the past year were the under-25s, with 2.5 per cent of workers in that age bracket owning their own business.

Ms Taylor said challenging economic conditions were driving entrepreneurs to seek the security of being an employee rather than an employer.

Source:  SMH

 

newsf3

The Human Rights Commission has launched a new video awareness campaign aimed at highlighting the value of older workers.

The Power of Oldness, launched by Age Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan and Minister for Employment, Senator Eric Abetz exposes the stark difference between the skills and strengths mature workers offer employers and organisations, with the discrimination they face when trying to gain or maintain jobs.

It is a web campaign aimed at raising awareness about the value of workers over the age of 50, with the video as its centrepiece.

Ms Ryan said Australians were living through a massive demographic change, but community attitudes, employer practices and business strategies seemed to ignore this.

“The Power of Oldness campaign will, we hope, prod everyone to recognise and act to stop age discrimination,” Ms Ryan said.

Rights Commission launches video

“Research undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission has found that one in 10 employers won’t recruit people over the age of 50.”

She said it was important that the experience and talent of older workers was highlighted as they already contributed to business and the community and had much more to offer.

Senator Abetz said the campaign was a way of getting the message about the value of older workers, to people of all ages around Australia.

“The video juxtaposes reality and perceptions in what I consider to be an active, pacey and poignant presentation,” Senator Abetz said.

More information on the Power of Oldness can be found at this PS News link.

Watford, Dorset and the Shetland Islands are leading the charge against ‘outdated’ older worker stereotypes, a Government report revealed today.

According the figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions, Watford has the highest rate of employment among older workers, with nine out of 10 people aged 50-64 in work.

In the Shetlands this rate is 88 per cent while in north Dorset it’s 87 per cent, closely followed by Stroud in Gloucestershire and Horsham in Sussex.

New tricks: Watford, Dorset and the Shetland Islands are leading the charge against 'outdated' older worker sterotypes, a Government report revealed today

DWP minister Steve Webb said: ‘The business case for ignoring outdated and inaccurate stereotypes and giving older workers a chance to thrive is absolutely compelling, and these figures
show that in some parts of the country that message is being received loud and clear.

‘What we must do now is extend the positive record we’re seeing in counties like Hertfordshire across the whole of the UK.’

But the report also highlighted a number of employment blackspots for older workers.

Almost half of people aged 50-64 were unemployed in Hyndburn and Rossendale in Lancashire, 50 per cent in London’s Tower Hamlets, and 51 per cent in Barrow-in-Furness.

‘JOB PROSPECTS FOR YOUNG ARE IMPROVING’ 

Two-thirds of employers have hired a young person in the past year, according to a survey of 600 employers.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said this positive outlook is set to continue for the rest of the year, with employers focussing more on candidate’s attitude rather than exam results.

Rec chief executive Kevin Green said: ‘It’s the best time in six years to be a young person coming into the jobs market.’

This resonates with data released by the Office for National Statistics last week suggesting that ageism in the workplace is still rife.

Unemployment as a whole fell to 6.4 per cent last quarter and the number of unemployed people aged 16-49 fell 18.8 per cent since May 2010, compared to just 5.3 per cent for those aged 50-64.

Dr Ros Altmann, the former director general of Saga, who was appointed last month as the Government’s Business Champion for Older Workers, said more needed to be done to help people in this age group, such as offering apprentice schemes.

‘It does seem there remains latent ageism in the labour market,’ she said. ‘Not enough is being done to help these people back to work and overcome ageist attitudes.’

And with retirement at the age of 65 looking increasingly unfeasible for most workers, employment equality is essential if they’re to top up their dwindling pension pot.

Steve Webb added: ‘Another crucial point is that a person dropping out of the workforce early can have a devastating effect on their retirement income. We owe it to people to do everything possible toensure they can benefit from a full working life.’

Source:This  is Money UK