Experience – not age – is the key to success

I read your article from Alan Johnson MP, then secretary of state for trade and industry, ‘Justifying age-based practices’ (Employment Law, Personnel Today, 25 April) with interest.

Why is there such a negative obsession with age in the UK?

Time and again, organisations tend to focus on objective justification while missing the point about the positive value of an experienced workforce.

UK organisations are reluctant to recruit older candidates and could be missing out on the skills they so desperately need. Older employees have more life and work experience, and a strong work ethic, which is often missing in the younger generation.

An age-diverse workforce brings business benefits and savings through a multi-skilled and well-experienced team. Employers that are age positive enjoy lower staff turnover rates, lower absenteeism and workers with higher levels of motivation and efficiency.

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Contrary to popular opinion, the iPod generation isn’t the ‘be-all-and-end-all’.

Dominic Wade, director, Wade Macdonald