The old versus the new

The network market has gained a bad reputation for ageism in its employment practices, regularly discriminating against skilled professionals over 40 years of age in favour of fresh young blood which is believed to be more flexible and ambitious.

The perception is that workers in their twenties and thirties can adjust faster to new technology such as the internet. Older workers tend to be labelled as 'set in their ways' or difficult to retrain, but these unenlightened attitudes are estimated to cost the UK economy as much as £26bn per year in lost production.

So it's not just political correctness that is making bosses and staff speak out against ageism. Younger staff may sometimes be cheaper, but age brings a wealth of experience that someone of, say, 25 simply doesn't have.

Old faithful
This means there are real benefits to be had from hiring someone who is in their forties or fifties. Employers complain about skills shortages and how tricky it is to attract and retain staff, but then ignore the fact that older people can bring loyalty and stability to a company.

A spokesman from the Employers Forum on Age said that, unlike sexism and racism, there are no current laws to protect staff against ageism, however. "The [UK] government's New Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment is only a voluntary guideline on discrimination and has not been tremendously effective so far," he said.

A survey carried out on behalf of the Department for Education and Employment revealed that 78 per cent of unemployed people over 50 felt that age counted against them when applying for a job.

Although Age Concern's Alice Hunt said the voluntary code was a step in the right direction, she believes it is not enough to ensure that companies give older people a fair chance. The guidelines are up for review in October 2001.

"Legislation is needed urgently. Once the stereotypes have been broken down, employers will realise that people over 40 can have long-term career goals," Hunt said.

Untapped resource
But the government's response to the IT skills crisis so far has been to suggest allowing technically qualified overseas professionals to emigrate to the UK rather than look at the untapped resource of people over 40 who are already living in this country.

In the network sector alone, many individuals have been unable to find work as a result of their age. Shelley Gorys, director of recruitment consultant Alexander Francis, said that she has seen numerous candidates coming up against brick walls as soon as they hit 50.

"People with good experience and excellent skills are finding more problems. They are being dismissed as 'past it' despite the fact that they are able to learn cutting-edge skills and are thoroughly receptive to them," she explained.

"It's not right they should be passed over. They have career goals and can be equally ambitious. Most employees of 50 have at least 15 more years of work in them, if not more. They are not slower to learn than their younger counterparts and have a larger knowledge base, which enables them to deal with problems in an efficient way," she added.

"Alexander Francis has a candidate that worked at IBM from 1973 to 1993 who is an excellent and highly-skilled professional. But the moment he turned 50, he came up against a brick wall and he has now been out of work for a year. Telecoms is experiencing explosive growth, and if you can find someone with the right skills, you should grab them regardless of age," she concluded.