Job brokers for over 50s They get retired people out of retirement

In Switzerland, you have to work until 65. But what then? Retired people are usually still fit and want to stay active. The senior@work platform wants to offer older people a chance.

The shortage of skilled workers has not just been a concern in Switzerland since yesterday. But there are ways to counteract it. At least that's what experts say. senior@work is convinced that it works.

Alexis Weil (33) is the founder of the senior@work online platform and says: "The idea to set up this platform came in 2018 when my father retired." He was fit and active at 65 and had no desire to be a pensioner.

"The problem was that as a pensioner, you don't get back into the world of work so quickly. There are many reasons for this," explains Weil, who has now also been nominated for a Swiss Diversity Award with his project. "On the one hand, companies keep their distance from older jobseekers. Mostly because of prejudices."

The platform has a simple structure. Companies looking for skilled workers can register on senior@work. "Senior talents, as we call our customers, can also create a profile with us, just like the companies," says Weil.

Companies can then post their job advertisements on senior@work and subsequently receive suggestions for suitable candidates. Weil says: "We now have 60,000 candidates and 6,000 companies that have registered with us."

Not all companies want "old" employees

Companies are happy to have skilled workers who work part-time or full-time and bring their experience to the company. However, there are also areas that are more skeptical: "Start-ups and the IT sector are less represented on our platform than other sectors."

In IT, there is a great deal of skepticism towards older people. Weil says: "We need to do more educational work here. However, we have also been able to attract some IT companies and start-ups to our platform." Another hurdle to overcome is the employment law regulations for retired people.

"All companies take the law into account, of course." Weil is focusing on raising awareness - and not just among candidates: "It is important to us to inform companies that the older generation is still very valuable and, above all, can put an end to the shortage of skilled workers in a company." The main goal of senior@work: "We want to cover the shortage of skilled workers and make a lasting change to the economy."

Expert sees major advantages for the over 50s

Matthias Mölleney is Head of the Center for HR and Leadership at the HWZ and says: "It makes perfect sense to involve the older generation in the job market." A company could even save money in some circumstances. "If I hire a person who is 55 years old, it is more likely that they will stay with the company for 10 years."

On the other hand, when companies hire younger people, there is a greater likelihood that a company will have to fill a position three times in 10 years. Mölleney explains: "The argument that older employees would cost more is therefore no longer valid in an ideal situation."

A rethink is slowly taking place in the companies that are thinking about this. The pioneering companies where this rethink has already taken place have a major advantage. "They have a large selection of skilled workers who want to work, are motivated and have a great deal of specialist knowledge," says Mölleney.

However, it is important that the further training system is also adapted for older people. "Companies often say that the older generation hasn't had any further training for 10 years," says Mölleney. However, the training system is often not tailored to people over 50. "If you take these factors into account and make adjustments to the labor market, you could tackle the shortage of skilled workers," says Mölleney.