Ageism at work ‘is widening the leadership skills gap’

Nick Elvin

Workers aged over 50 are routinely being overlooked for promotion despite possessing the essential knowledge and experience needed to fill the UK’s leadership skills gap, according to a new report from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).

The report, drawn from a survey of more than 1,400 UK managers, reveals that many organisations wrongly assume that staff over 50 lack the desire to develop and progress into more senior leadership roles.

The ILM found that managers rated team members aged 50 plus far lower than younger age groups for their keenness to learn, develop and progress, scoring them at 46% for these attributes, compared to 67% for Generation X (identified in the survey as those born 1965-1976), and 79% for their Millennial colleagues (born 1977-1997).

In fact, the over-50s rated their own keenness to develop at 94%, higher than the Millennial age group, who trailed in last place with 87%.

Kate Cooper, head of applied research & policy at ILM said: “There is an inequality in Britain’s workforce that is contributing to a large and worrying leadership skills gap.

“We see that over-50s are typically not being given equal opportunity to apply their much-needed occupational skills, knowledge and customer focus within a leadership role. This is because older workers are wrongly assumed to lack the desire to learn and progress into more senior positions, when in fact we found they are just as keen, if not keener, than their younger colleagues to grow and develop.”

The study also found that older workers’ confidence and career targets are lower than their younger counterparts. Despite a keen desire to advance, fewer than half (46%) of over-50s managers expected to progress into a more senior position within the next three years. This was compared to 76% of Millennial managers and 62% for Generation X.

Cooper added: “We are seeing signs of organisational ageism, where highly skilled and talented staff members have less opportunity to progress as they get older. It seems this culture is so embedded that many workers over 50 are accepting they have limited opportunities in their current organisations.”

The ILM report coincides with the release this week of a best-practice guide that aims to end age discrimination in recruitment and to give older people a better chance of finding work.

Launched by Age UK and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the guide will be sent to each of the REC’s more than 3,300 members and promoted through its membership engagement programme.

It calls on recruiters to “commit to promoting the strong business case for hiring older workers and help their clients, employers, appreciate the many benefits that experienced and skilled workers can bring to organisations”.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC said: “There is an enormous skills crisis looming. The UK is suffering from skills shortages across the economy and at the same time businesses say they can’t take on more work without more staff.

“Older workers have a huge amount of experience, skill and knowledge to offer organisations. To encourage older people to stay in the labour market employers need to be more effective at attracting and retaining older workers.

“Simple things like changes to the language used in job descriptions and where roles are advertised could be significant. We want hirers to work alongside specialist recruiters who understand the benefits that older workers can bring, and who can help tailor job roles to meet their needs.”