MORE than 61,000 older jobseekers have moved into work across Yorkshire and the Humber over the last five years – but ministers are calling on employers to strive even harder to give older workers a fair deal.

The call comes as the Government launches a new online resource drawing together a wealth of guidance and support for older workers in one easy-to-access place.

The new webpage “Help and Support for Older Workers” on GOV.UK signposts employees and employers to handy sources of information where they can get help with everything from creating a cutting-edge CV, learning new skills, and even how to go about starting an apprenticeship.

This forms part of the DWP’s Fuller Working Lives strategy which aims to challenge and change outdated attitudes towards older workers.

The number of older workers employed in the region has now reached 655,000.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: “Older workers have an enormous contribution to make in the workplace and the fact that there has been such a large increase in their numbers shows that employers are realising this.

“But it’s also clear that the talents of older workers are often overlooked unfairly. We have made it a priority to support older workers to stay in the workplace and to help employers understand their value.”

Jobcentres up and down the country are working hard to provide tailored back-to-work support for older people.

The Government’s Business Champion for Older Workers, Dr Ros Altmann, recently met with people over the age of 50 to find out how they were helped back into work by Jobcentre Plus staff and the back-to-work support that is on offer to those still looking to re-start their careers

Dr Altman said: “The whole Jobcentre Plus network across the UK is helping older people who feared their careers were over to get back into the workplace. Crucially, Jobcentres are engaging with employers to dispel old myths and spread the message that people in their 50s and 60s are loyal, experienced and committed members of staff.

“People are living longer and simply don’t feel old in their 50s like they might have done a generation or two ago. Also, many people also realise that it makes financial sense in terms of their future retirement prospects to stay in work a little longer – and initiatives like these are helping them do that.”

Separate figures show that Jobcentre Plus has helped more than 40,000 older jobseekers to retrain and learn new skills by giving them job tasters in new sectors through initiatives such as work experience, sector-based work academies, and new enterprise allowance.

For more information, visit gov.uk/government/publications/help-and-support-for-older-workers/help-and-support-for-older-workers