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PERSONNEL FILE
Page 55
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• The over-50s should be brought back into industry to help offset the shortage of young workers, says a Commons Select Committee on employment.
More flexible retirement, better pension schemes and a joint campaign by the Government and the Confederation of British Industry to encourage more over-50s employment, were recommended.
Faced with a growing labour shortage, many transport firms are already looking for older recruits. Transport and Development Group management adviser Brian Jones says: The labour market in transport distribution is increasingly tight. The TDG has adopted a more flexible view to mature workers over the past three years and especially in the past 12 months, although there is no change in our formal recruitment policy."
The House of Commons Employment Committee has rejected the introduction of legislation to make it illegal to discriminate against older job applicants as in the United States, but it has recommended a series of measures: O Government training schemes to be opened to the over-50s.
O Grants for people over the age of 55 for educational or training programmes. CI State-owned employment agencies to ask firms wanting to place age restrictions on jobs if they are necessary.
Discrimination against the over-50s is a major problem, says the committee. However, many transport firms, such as Christian Salvesen and TNT, do not impose age restrictions on jobs. Personnel director of distribution for Christian Salvesen, John Campbell, says his company has always recruited the over-50s.
He says: "We do not put up any age barriers, as older job applicants have a lot of experience and probably a lot of stability to offer."
Go Whittle's managing director Ron Whittle agrees, and admits he looks very favourably on mature job applicants. He urges other transport operators, especially those in the PSV industry, to look ahead before the labour shortage • takes hold.
"The shortage will hit transport. Our driver applications for the summer season have already dropped considerably. Passenger transport will be hit especially hard because of its unsocial hours and low wages," he says.