Can younger people and seniors be friends?

 After the new report submitted to the  government about the million and rising  NEETs  it is likely that quite rightly there will be more resources allocated to providing further support and opportunities for young people to gain qualifications, apprenticeships and employment.

However the risk is that seniors ( 50+ including pensioners)  who are long term unemployed or who are part of the million plus Economically Inactive  older population ( those needing and seeking work but not in receipt of unemployment pay or support from DWP) will lose out on the meagre support and access to training and employment currently offered.

There is a widespread myth that older people are job blocking younger ones when in fact companies that retain and / or hire older staff and have an age diverse workforce offer greater opportunities for younger ( under 25)people to gain employment.

UK and EU wide research shows that when companies make older people redundant they do not ( and often cannot) offer young people those vacancies as they are not yet able to carry out the level of skilled work required, instead it is a downsizing operation which usually just leads to core age working people( 25- 49) having to shoulder extra workloads. 

There is a virtuous circle in age diverse staff, with seniors able to support, train, guide and mentor newly recruited younger staff enabling them to understand and apply the requirements of the job and the company. Also companies with age diverse staff have found that their productivity, profitability and staff retention all increase.Younger people bring new skills, social media awareness and innovative ideas into the workplace, while seniors offer experience, skills and an understanding of work culture to the mutual benefit of all and the company itself.

There are similar problems for the young and old alike in terms of poverty, lack of training and employment opportunities resulting from ageism as well as the closure of public services required by both ( libraries, community centres, well maintained parks and leisure facilities). There is a similar division of class and wealth so that while there maybe 25% senior millionaires, half of pensioners are near or below the poverty line (especially carers and single older women), while the only younger people able to start buying their own home are the children of the already wealthy.

The impact of senior unemployment is such that their family members are also likely to be unemployed.

This is why the charity Wise Age Ltd ( www.wiseage.org.uk) along with Age Platform Europe and our partners embrace the approach of Intergenerational Solidarity