Photo of Jenny Hilliard, Head of HR at B3Living.
Jenny Hilliard, our Head of HR, writes about our recruitment practices in relation to age.
We recently took part in a jobs fair for over 50s in the Waltham Cross Jobcentre and here’s what we found...
- Most people were worried about not getting a job due to their age
- Despite having a variety of skills and often comprehensive work experience, they didn’t feel confident in their ability to get a job
- Barriers encountered when it comes to accessing job opportunities include struggling to scan QR codes and writing emails
Though we often see a focus around promoting a younger workforce in many businesses, it is important that we continue to make our work opportunities accessible to everyone regardless of their age.
At B3Living, we use an anonymous recruitment process which removes demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race, or ethnicity etc. from the application form. This allows us to focus on the quality of the skills and experience presented and the candidate’s suitability for the advertised role.
For most roles, we don't rely solely on qualifications; we accept 'equivalent experience' recognising that older candidates may not have had access to current qualifications.
We do require a minimum level of computer literacy. However, we know that training and learning on the job will improve confidence in this area, so we will provide support to access our online systems.
All our jobs are shared with the Jobcentre, who are able to offer support with writing CVs and covering letters, and filling in online applications. We also have some handy ‘how to’ guides on our recruitment web pages to support application and interview processes.
Our B3Living colleagues at the Waltham Cross Jobcentre over 50s fair.
B3Living has a very diverse workforce in terms of age with the average age of our colleagues being 50. This demonstrates our support for mature workers - who we recognise can bring a wealth of life experience and expertise to our work.
We are always interested to hear from candidates who would like to work for us, so check out any current vacancies on our website, sign up for job alerts or give us a call to talk about any opportunities we may have.