Finished at Fifty: Being young, being old and being stuck in the middle

Nana Wereko-Brobby, Editor, 25

On Monday the BBC aired ‘Finished at Fifty?’, a Panorama documentary following four jobless 50-somethings who, after many years of employment, are now faced with a lack of prospects and finding it impossible to get a job.

The media lens has been firmly focussed on the plight of graduates in the wake of the recession, faced with bleak job opportunities and unappealing university costs if they are to return to stydying. However, for those in their 50s, too young to retire and suffering the effects of lay-offs, the situation is bleak. Whilst we worry about our ageing society and the prospect of lengthy retirements for the economy to support, it is easy to forget about those who need and want to work, but are deemed less appealing than their younger, more competitive and tech-savvy counterparts.

Fiona Phillips, former presenter of GMTV (50) had little trouble finding another job after she left. However, as the programme points out, if you lose your job at 55, there’s a strong risk you’re never work again….

The 50s is apparently the least likely age group to find another job once made redundant. There are currently nearly 400,000 over 50s in the UK who are unemployed and 45% of these are classed as long-term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for over a year.

The four people focussed on in this programme were pretty destitute. Andrew, formerly a financial consultant, had made 500 applications in one year to no avail. Matt, also out of work, described losing his job as like losing a member of his family.

Efforts have been made to combat the problem, with the government creating The Work Programme, a kick start scheme where private companies partner with job centres to get people back into employment. But with 400,000 job losses in the public sector by 2015, the strain on the job market is growing. There is the option of re-training or re-skilling, but this is time consuming and comes at a financial cost which some may not be able to manage. Becoming an entrepreneur was presented as an option, as was volunteering. A former contractor in the programme was now working for the charity Shelter which, although not paid, gave him something to do and some faith in his abilities and value as a ‘social contributor’.

According to the employment authority ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), there are some key stereotypes that need to be challenged. Employers think older people are more likely to be off sick (but research has shown the opposite) and that older people start ‘winding down’ as they approach retirement age and are less ambitious. However, the value of having good mentors for younger colleagues cannot be ignored. This is something we could learn from America, who seem to place more importance on the ‘mentor’ agenda than we do.

The key question brought up by the programme was whether these people are victims of age discrimination or do they just need to face up to reality? The grey area of being in your fifties means that you play a balancing act in the work place, putting forward your ‘experience credentials’ but having to compliment them with the notion that you are as, if not more, energetic and hard working than an ambitious young twenty-something. Whether this is the case or not depends on the individual but what is clear is that once you leave the rat race, there is a danger you might just not be let back in.

Discuss.

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