Shropshire businesses urged to try and coax 'hidden pool' over-50s talent back to work
Shropshire is sitting on a ‘hidden pool’ of talent in workers aged 50 and over according to county business experts – and firms must find a way to tap into it.
Business chiefs across Shropshire say it is vital that companies look to bring ‘economically inactive’ adults back into work to help solve recruitment problems which have plagued the region.
An ONS survey recently found almost three quarters of ‘economically inactive’ adults aged 50 to 59 would consider returning to work compared with almost two thirds in February.
And Mike Goodall, development manager for the Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: “There’s an opportunity for places like Shropshire, or anywhere with an ageing population, from a business perspective.
“There are some who might have retired to Shropshire early, to get out of the rat race, people at senior management level who dropped out of the workplace during the pandemic.
“But it means Shropshire could now be sitting on a latent pool of talent that’s not being tapped into yet.
“There are people who might, due to the challenges of the last 12 months, be thinking, ‘I could do with turning my hand to something again’.
“It might not be a full time role but a trouble-shooter position or consultancy, where they go in, sort something out and move on to the next project, as opposed to working 9-5. That group of people, who have been there, seen it, done it, sort stuff out and crack on.
“It is about trying to marry this up with businesses, projects and initiatives which require experience and expertise.
“There’s no structures in place to marry up that pool of hidden talent and the need and opportunities out there at the moment in small and large businesses. It’s finding the mechanism for that.”
Richard Sheehan, Shropshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said the challenge of taking advantage of the growing pool of ‘economically inactive’ workers was not easy.
“This is not always a straightforward thing to do,” he said. “Over-50s who have removed themselves from the workforce for whatever reason are traditionally among the hardest to reach so employers must realise that these people have to be courted.
"They will have valuable transferable skills and experience, but in turn will be looking for a two-way relationship with an employer, built around flexibility.
“There is no doubt that current financial pressures on the cost of living may be persuading a number of economically inactive over-50s to look at a return to work, but these are people who have become used to doing what they want, when and how they want it.
“The impact of the Covid pandemic has made them re-evaluate their work-life balance, which means that any potential employment opportunities have to align more conveniently with their family life.”
Hollie Whittles, FSB National Policy Champion for Skills, added: “The over-50s could definitely add real value to sectors like hospitality, who thanks to Brexit and Covid have lost a lot of trained resource.
“The drop in customer service levels and experience is noticeable and someone who has been around for a while would be perfect to step into these roles to help mentor the younger generations. In fact, this probably applies to all sectors.”
