Generation, an organization that seeks to “transform education to employment systems to prepare, place, and support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible” has released a new report about the challenges of jobseekers aged 45-60 entitled Meeting the World’s Midcareer Moment:
Every moment is a crossroads. But for midcareer workers everywhere, the diverging paths ahead are especially stark: if we choose to recognize the talents of this group and help them adapt to workplace disruptions, we can prosper together. But if we stick with the status quo, a bad situation will only get worse.
That is the key takeaway from a global survey—the first of its kind—to provide an in-depth view of individuals age 45-60 seeking or working in entry-level and intermediate roles. Critically, these insights are consistent across all seven countries in our survey, highlighting an unexpected shared reality for this cohort. Read the full report at Generation.
The importance of this issue for people who want to transition to green jobs is profound, as society needs people in green jobs but creates obstacles for older people to fill them.
However, there is good news, as cited in the AARP coverage of the new report:
On a positive note, once hired, midcareer workers performed just as well on the job as their younger counterparts, according to employers. Among the respondents, 87 percent of their workers age 45 and older were just as good or better than younger employees with regard to job performance. And 90 percent said that those midcareer workers showed the potential to stay with the company long term.
“Hearing employers that have hired job-seekers aged 45 and above say that those workers tend to outperform their younger counterparts is encouraging, but also accentuates the tragedy of today’s employment landscape,” said Mona Mourshed, global CEO of Generation.
One avenue that midcareer workers can use to improve their prospects in the job market is to pursue new training, either upskilling or reskilling for potential job switches. Among the hiring managers Generation surveyed, 73 percent said they felt more confident hiring workers who had a credential showing they had completed training in the skills the job requires. Workers age 45 and older agreed: Among these midcareer workers who switched jobs, 74 percent said that additional training helped them get hired for their new job.
This finding is supported by additional research from AARP.
“Lifelong learning is important for job success and a recent AARP survey shows that older workers in the U.S. are very interested in training,” says Susan Weinstock, vice president of Financial Resilience Programming for AARP. “Two-thirds of older workers are interested in additional job/skills training, and interest in training increases with employer support. Among African Americans/Blacks, 74 percent are interested in training and that number jumps to 80 percent for Hispanics/Latinos. A whopping 94 percent of older workers overall would learn new skills if requested by a current or potential employer.”