Helping Older People back into Work

1. Helping Older People back into Work Jane GibsonAge and Employment Consultant

2. Current market place for work DWP is committed to helping people out of poverty. Their aim is to encourage people into employment by helping them to find work and stay in employment and by supporting those furthest from the Labour Market to move, where possible, into work. To do this the DWP is accessing a wide range of provision to address the barriers to work experienced by different groups of claimants, including those who experience disadvantage in the Labour Market. Wise Age is the provider of choice for supporting people of 50+ back into work.

3. The Age Works project in East London Age Works is the Wise Age Employability project that we have run in both NE and SE London. In NE London the project covered the boroughs of: Hackney Newham (Stratford and Canning Town) Tower Hamlets

4. DWP contracts for NE London 58 Starts – Fully signed up to the programme (ensure they are suitable candidates before signing up) 23 Job outcomes – In work for minimum of 4 weeks 12 months contract (SE London 30 Starts and 15 job outcomes)

5. East London cohort Age Works client distribution in NE London: Hackney 65 Newham Stratford 36Canning Town 35 Tower Hamlets 22

6. DWP contracts for NE London We registered 158 clients We had 58 Starts We got approx. 40 Job outcomes – In work for minimum of 4 weeks Why did we register 158 clients?

7. Eligibility criteria

8. Eligibility criteria The key eligibility criteria for Age Works clients was that they were 50+ and a professional who had been unemployed less than 1 year. This decision was based on the fact that those unemployed for > 1 year find it much more difficult to get employment. Employers are far more reluctant to consider this group of people. Employers are prejudiced against the long-term unemployed and those with large gaps in their CV.

9. DWP contract with NE London • However, the Jobcentre was ignoring the eligibility criteria set by DWP and were sending us clients who had been long-term unemployed and who were desperate to get back to work. • For this reason, because of the funding arrangements, we extended the number of clients we registered so that we were able to take on many who were long-term unemployed working over a longer period of time.

10. How we operate Age Works • The process for assessing clients was broken down into phases: • Registration • Diagnostic Assessments • Group Sessions • 1-2-1 Coaching • 1-2-1 Job Matching

11. Registration - Do YOU Want to Work?

12. Registration process Process for Registration Discuss the Age Works programme Is our programme what the client is looking for? Does the client fit our eligibility criteria? If not eligible, is the client prepared to keep with the programme?

13. Diagnostic Assessment 1 Where do you want to work? Industry Location Department

14. Diagnostic Assessment 1 The diagnostic process is very detailed. We need to assess the client’s needs and the obstacles that may lie in the way of finding work. We ask questions such as: What type of job are you looking for? When did you last work? What qualifications/certificates have you got? Do you have health issues? Are there obstacles in the way of work?

15. Diagnostic Assessment 2 We then analyse factors such as: Is the client prepared to travel - what locations? Are their skills transferable? What sector(s) are of interest? What level of responsibility can be taken on? Is self-employment a possibility?

16. Group Sessions Group Activities & Discussions Group a) Good things about working? Group b) Not so good things about working?

17. Group Sessions Our group support programme is designed to be inspirational. We have discussions exploring various topics such as: How do you counter ageism, sexism, racism What is getting in the way of you getting a job? What are the barriers? What are good workplace behaviours? What gets an employer excited? How do you complete an application form? Interview technique: discussion and practise in small groups

18. Which employability skills make employers really excited?

19. Limiting Beliefs ….. ‘life is a self-fulfilling prophecy’ What does this mean to You?

20. Limiting Beliefs ‘You are only limited by your own self beliefs! To change things you must take responsibility for your beliefs, thoughts, feelings and actions’ Please read your handouts and answer questions 1 to 3.

21. 1-2-1 Coaching In-depth support & mentoringWise Age client advisors provide in-depth support & mentoring specific to each individual’s future employability. We address questions such as Who am I? What do I aspire to be? What am I good at? What do I have to offer? What abilities and talents do I possess? We set up an Action Plan to work out the route of, “where do I want to be?” Confidence buildingWe improve confidence and motivation using goals, planning, examining the pros & cons of work and the importance of personal presentation & communication.

22. 1-2-1 Coaching - continued • Workplace behaviours & Employer expectations We discuss timekeeping, flexibility, attendance, reliability, dress code, appearance & attitude • Good job hunting techniques This includes use of social media in job seeking, accessing, registering and navigating Universal Jobmatch and other job sites; • Good CV and Interview preparationA good CV is essential to getting a job. We help clients to put together a relevant non-ageist CV. We help with writing successful applications and work on effective interview skills.

23. SMART Action Planning Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound We use diagnostic interviews to assess levels of literacy, numeracy & IT, employment related activities, employability, transferable skills & barriers to employment The diagnostics form the baseline from which we produce a realistic (SMARTER) action plan geared to the identification & breakdown of each client’s individual barriers to engagement & employment When diagnostics reveal the need for further targeted support, we liaise with specialist agencies drawn from our trained ROPES partners

24. 1-2-1 Job Matching 1-2-1 Support from jobmatchers • Dedicated jobmatchers, help the client to find the jobs best suited to their skill set • Jobmatchers liaise with agencies and employers to directly link a client to a potential work opportunity • Jobmatchers discuss with the client what are the best sites to find the jobs they are looking for • Jobmatchers scope potential jobs to minimise unrealistic job applications.

25. 3 Case Studies To finish, we will briefly outline 3 case studies.

26. 3 Case Studies - Rosa Came from Spain in 2007. she was in her early 50s Unemployed for 3 months Finding it difficult to meet requirements in advertised roles Opted out of Group Sessions Had a voluntary job Together we updated Rosa’s CV to make it age friendly Rosa started a log of her job search activities Connected up with our Jobmatch adviser Rosa attended a coaching and mentoring session once a week Within 2 months Rosa got a job working in Compliance with a well-known firm

27. 3 Case Studies - Julie Julie was in her late 50s, seriously been looking for work for 2 yrs Wise Age classified her as a returner Been a FT mum then later cared for mother and grandchildren Looking for work in retail but also would consider child care Not IT literate. We set up Julie on email and gave her some basic training on job search technique Suffering from health issues: back pain and clinical depression Preferred to work PT would also allow time for care responsibilities Wise age helped Julie to write 2 CVs, With the help of our jobmatcher, various retail jobs were sourced but unfortunately could not find anything suitable Julie pursued various recruitment websites including Care.com After 3½ months Julie landed a part-time position in child care working directly with the family. The job met Julie's needs perfectly.

28. 3 Case Studies - Steve Steve in early 50s. Had to stop work 3yrs earlier due to serious high blood pressure Recently had an operation and feeling better but anxious about health Steve had previously worked in IT networking and administration for 14 years Last position Security – fortunately still had SIA accreditation Attended Group Training Session where he was an active participant – focusing on improving his interview technique Wise Age Client Adviser and Jobmatcher worked closely with Steve Helped to update his CV so that it would stand out Jobmatcher sent many and various senior Security opportunities to match Steve’s abilities and skillset After 4 months group training and coaching, Steve was able to get back into a managerial security position

29. Conclusion Above were some of our successful cases. And without a doubt our Age Work programme enabled over 50% of our clients to reach their goal. However, it was noticeable that members of the ethnic community, particularly those that are low skilled were finding it more difficult to find work. We also noticed that skilled professionals in Finance and IT find it more difficult to stay in their chosen profession and needed to retrain or downsize the job they were looking for. Employers need to be supported in recognising that older people can still add value in professional occupations such as IT and Finance. Employers need to be more open to older people from diverse backgrounds and support the low skilled in getting jobs. Older people need more apprenticeships to embark on a new career path. We need a more open and flexible work environment so that those with caring responsibilities or with disabilities of their own can break up the working day to accommodate their needs.

30. Any Questions