When Fletcher Steel needed a metallurgist who had proven his worth over years of work, general manager Hamish McBeath tapped 56-year-old Bruce Roberts. McBeath and Roberts had worked together at the firm when McBeath was just in his 20s. Supervising someone much older than him is something he embraced.
Metallurgists in the country are in short supply, which only highlighted the value Roberts brought to the firm. "For me I am quite comfortable with employing an older employee," McBeath says. "I knew what skills he could bring to the job and the age thing doesn't come in. The key thing for me is making sure [older employees] are comfortable with me."
Unlike McBeath, however, many employers have an issue with taking on older workers, says Retirement Commissioner Diane Maxwell. Older workers are more likely to encounter age discrimination and be unemployed, with research from the Commission for Financial Capability in 2016 and 2017 noting that recruitment consultants are often one problem.
"We spoke with consultants who say they didn't forward on the CVs of older workers because they were confident [the younger bosses] wouldn't want to see them," Maxwell says.
It is frustrating for Maxwell that someone deemed to have desirable skills at age 30 will somehow not have them when then they hit 40, 50 or 60. "I don't think age defines the person," she says, refuting that younger translates to better. "This drives me nuts."