Supporting the 50+ workforce back into employment

Using multiple avenues of engagement: 

• Actively seek out and work with local organisations and community networks – such as faith groups, community groups and housing associations. This can help overcome barriers of mistrust
• Engagement at a very local level enables you to make contact with those outside the system. Focus on establishing yourself in the local area so that you become more aware of local challenges, existing activity and become an organisation people want to talk to. Greater understanding of local activity will help you to promote pathways that are relevant to individuals
• Have a range of options for contacting people: text; phone; online; in person. This offers the best chance of enabling people to engage in a way that is comfortable for them and will increase the likelihood of them continuing to work with you. Flexibility in timings is also important 
• Focus on the whole person – when promoting provision make it clear that support can be holistic and not just about “getting any job”. Personalised support that looks at their whole life circumstance will draw people in 

Taking time at the outset to develop a positive, professional relationship is key to: 

• Understanding the range of personal circumstances that can affect how a person engages with employment support and ultimately employment 
• Being able to tackle issues that are difficult to address and may not have easy solutions – setting out how you can help people navigate issues, move towards more positive outcomes and giving them belief in your offer is important 
• Setting out the journey – small steps are often needed to convince others of your support, their capabilities and of opportunities that could benefit them  

People often find it difficult to engage with support and to be proactive when: 

• Contact is made through a generic offer without specific relevance to their age or circumstance – this is not about just labelling provision as 50+, but ensuring that the service does not exclude or set itself out in a way that disadvantages people in their 50s and 60s 
• They have to travel a distance to access support, and possibly enter an unfamiliar environment or one that they see as just focused on work at all costs – trusted places are key to good engagement 
• They feel that employment support will negatively impact any benefits that they currently have in place – people can be very wary of sanctions and have negative views on the system based on past experiences or word of mouth 
• They feel that they have stepped into a situation where they have no agency, and there is no possibility of accommodating their individual, personal circumstances  
• They don’t see themselves represented in the promotional materials – this reinforces the feeling that the programme is not for them. Positive language, promoting provision as collaborative and utilising images of people they relate too can help with this 

Thinking about your current practice of identifying and engaging clients: 

• Review your current relationships with local partners/stakeholders: 
  • Is there good representation in terms of over 50s? 
  • Are there any new partnerships you could forge? 
  • Who is best placed within your team to take on the engagement with group leaders and/or participants you want to reach? 
     
• Thinking about the materials that you use for the over 50s age group: 
  • Is the language positive, encouraging and inviting? 
  • Does the language or use of imagery include any unintended ageist stereotypes? 
  • Is the imagery representative of the people you are targeting? 
  • Have you been able to implement any feedback from this cohort with regard to the effectiveness of these materials? 
     
• Are there elements of your engagement processes that might act as a barrier to access? 
  • Taking account of your contractual requirements, how flexible can you be with sign up and on-going engagement? 
  • Identify one aspect of your engagement process that you feel could be improved and plan to implement that change 

An empathetic approach that focuses on confidence-building, which means:

• Understanding personal needs and aspirations and planning towards an end goal that recognises these
• Challenging internalised ageism – helping people see themselves as working age and as having skills and experience that can still add to a workplace
• Building a positive outlook and self-confidence – this is often knocked by negative experiences of looking for work in our 50s and 60s

Life journey mapping (not just focusing on employment history) which means:​ 

• Focussing on what a person have done at different stages in their lives, and identifying practical, transferable skills from any previous employment and their life outside work – including skills outside of formal qualifications
• Making sure you understand what they have already done, which should mean you don’t duplicate activity or send people to things not relevant to their goals

Setting realistic goals:

• Realistic goal setting – practical steps forward based on their experiences and aspirations. Ensure you involve the individual in this and keep relating activity back to their circumstances

A collaborative approach:

• Jointly agree goals and steps towards them, making sure that they reflect the person’s genuine aspirations and past experience
• Ensure that the person knows why they are being asked to complete activities, and understands how they relate to their previous experience and short- and long-term goals
• Understanding the logic behind the support being offered and how this meets people's goals is important in building faith in a coach’s ability

Practical support, to build an individual's understanding of the jobs market:

• Job search and application processes and tools may have changed substantially since the last time the person was looking for a job – so practical, unpatronising support to navigate those processes can make a big difference.
• Older workers might have large existing networks, but will need help understanding how to engage them
• People might need support engaging with employers - particularly if trying to move into a new sector
• Building your own awareness of different sectors and experiences you can increase service user confidence in your abilities and encourage them to work with you

People can feel undervalued when they come away from a meeting where: ​ 

• Their age has been emphasised negatively​ 
• Assumptions have been made, based on their age, about their abilities, wants and needs​ (for example, not all over 50s will automatically need digital training – decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis) 
• Their individual voice is not listened to, and their personal experience isn’t recognised​ 
• They feel they are on a standard pathway that has no flexibility or relevance to their individual circumstance​ 
• Their unique situation is not addressed e.g., the need for language support or recognition of non-UK qualifications ​ 
• Options are not fully explained, and expectations are unclear or are not met​ 

Reflecting on your experience of working with 50+ jobseekers:​ 

• Think about the link between low self-esteem and motivation to find work 
  • Talk about confidence building techniques with colleagues – look at building a peer group to share best practice
  • Take time to research confidence-building and note down any strategies that might be helpful for use in your practice
• Reflect on your ability to identify people’s internalised ageism ​ 
  • What does this look like? Are people referring to themselves as “too old”, or making assumptions about roles not being for them?
  • How effective have you been in positively challenging this? What challenges have you encountered in doing this?
  • How do you measure success in this? What has helped change people’s opinions?
• What methods are effective in ensuring that there is open dialogue with your 50+ clients about their action plan? ​ 
  • In what ways do these differ from working with other age groups?​ 
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of ‘active listening’ in your interactions – are you listening to each individual story? Think about how you talk to people through next steps and how you link this back to what they’ve told you. How might this be perceived?
  • Think about how you communicate your thought process behind the support being offered – is there a way to make it a more collaborative conversation?
• Consider a challenging conversation that you feel did not end well ​ 
  • Can you identify two techniques you could implement to achieve a positive outcome if faced with similar challenges in future?

Support is delivered flexibly and locally:

• Consideration is given to the level of flexibility needed, whether this is in terms of timing of appointments, location of meetings, accessibility of interviews or work environments 
• The setting is local and welcoming to the jobseeker. There should be spaces for privacy when needed, and spaces to share experiences and benefit from peer support 
• You can demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of local services and opportunities. Believing in your abilities will increase people’s willingness to engage with you and to follow steps you agree together in your action plans 

A holistic approach to supporting everyone which looks at: 

• Personal aspiration and goals.  This may mean looking beyond previous employment and considering a change in the type of work e.g., moving from intense physical work to something more sedentary 
• Experience beyond formal qualifications that could be used in work 
• Life circumstances including any responsibilities outside of their job search requirements e.g., caring or personal health concerns 
• Short-term and long-term financial considerations – these are particularly important as we move towards considering retirement

Offering a range of methods of interaction:

• 1:1 sessions can build rapport and confidence; peer groups offer valuable support, the opportunity to share experience and avoid feelings of isolation long term. There are great benefits to mixed groups meeting, allowing people to learn from one another, share experiences and demonstrate their personal skills

People can feel employment support isn’t for them when: 

• They don’t feel a connection with the person who is supporting them; this causes reluctance to engage fully and a lack of trust in ability 
• They feel that there is no flexibility in terms of delivery style, rather they are expected to fit into a system where everyone is treated the same, regardless of age, experience or circumstance 
• They sense negative preconceptions about their age and capability 
• Handovers to different providers / services / advisors aren’t detailed, meaning they have to keep repeating personal information or their experience  
• They are signposted to courses or alternative services that are not relevant to their needs or without any explanation as to how it fits with their goals

Considering your experience of delivering services to older jobseekers: 

• Consider the space you meet with your clients 
  • Are there any barriers to making it a welcoming environment? Think about the experience from arriving outside to sitting down with you – how would you feel if it was you arriving for the first time, what might make you feel anxious?
  • Are there any changes that you can make to put your clients at ease and help to build trust and establish a good rapport?
• Consider the practicalities of how you look at a person’s life circumstance when trying to support them into work 
  • Are there any challenges for you to working in this way? 
  • How do you ensure that you have fully understood the individual’s situation? What approaches or questions work best? Have you revisited this with people who have been on your caseloads for a while?
  • Share approaches with colleagues – could you work together to support those in similar situations?

Relevance – clear identification of a pathway that: 

• Is directly linked to individual goals – people do not want a list of training courses on their CV with little relevance to their aspirations or that don’t link to work they want 
• Builds on identified transferable skills or seeks to update traditional skills 
• Is clearly communicated and jointly agreed upon – understanding relevance and appropriateness is key 

Specificity – training that: 

• Is specifically designed for people who aren't used to being trained – focus on pace, language used, delivery methods  
• Is adapted to support people who may have had poor school experience, been out of a classroom for a long time or not be used to taking part in training  
• Provides practical skills and is focused on work they want and gives them some experience of the work before they move into employment – things like SWAPs and apprenticeships work particularly well with this group 
• Has the flexibility to fit around other personal commitments such as caring responsibilities or appointments  
• Offers a choice of timings, local venues (alternatives to traditional college environments) and online access to enable them to access training around their existing commitments 

Quality – in terms of: 

• Marketing materials that suit the target group, using language and images designed to draw interest and make people feel training is for them 
• Course content that is delivered well and allows for differentiated learning so that people can progress appropriately whilst building confidence. Content should be clearly linked to end goals and progression pathways 
• Effective communication prior to attending the training: giving information, answering questions and addressing any concerns will help set expectations. Sharing examples of peers who benefited from the training can also help 

People are likely to lose motivation to engage with skills training when: 

• They don't feel involved in the decision-making process around the training. This can lead them attending generic training that doesn’t address their needs or add to the skillset required for their chosen area of work 
• They were uncertain about what to expect in attending the venue – confidence is a big issue 
• They didn’t know what to expect with regard to course content, or they were expecting something quite different from what was delivered so they felt unprepared 
• They had bad experiences previously but have not had a chance to talk these through – asking about previous training and how they felt about this should be done before you sign people up to new activities 
• Follow-up activity after the course doesn’t build on what they learnt or link to their goals – training should be part of a clear individual journey to work, not just something everyone has to do 

When signposting older workers to training that is available: 

• How do you assess the suitability of a course for an individual?  
  • How much flexibility do you have to ensure that any training offered is appropriate and easy to access? 
  • Think about the training you have sent people on – have you seen how this is delivered? Make suggestions to those running sessions or highlight any challenges they could work around 
• How do you use the feedback you gather from providers or participants to inform your future practice? 
  • Are there systems in place to enable you or your team to discuss the training needs of older workers with providers? 
  • Could you facilitate a peer group of service users to help work on shared challenges? This could be delivered as an alternative to regular one-to-one sessions to keep support interesting and engaging 
• How do you evaluate the effectiveness of the training you recommend? 
  • What support are you able to offer to people who have had a negative experience of training? 
  • Do you feedback and follow up on any concerns people have had with providers? Can you offer any practical tips based on any issue raised?  
  • Share good practice – if a course works particularly well and feels inclusive, how can you help replicate that across other training, either in-house or delivered by partners?