Employees have no use-by date, according to psychologist
Organisational psychologist and director of national mature age employment, PLUS40, Paul Dickinson, is a guest speaker who will talk about the employment and retention of staff and lead discussions on 'Extending your employee's use-by date'.
Dickinson believes the 'old school' beliefs held by some employers that employees have a use-by date are flawed and are in part responsible for the current skills shortage.
"We understand from the recent Printing Industries' national membership survey (Dec 2006) that the printing, packaging and visual communications industries have a strong demand for experienced, dedicated and reliable staff across many sectors. It therefore makes sense for printing industry businesses to employ from the over 40 age group," he said.
It is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age; but many employers miss the opportunity standing in front of them, Dickinson said. "There is a real feeling out there that many employers simply are not interested in hiring an experienced worker. In fact PLUS40 commissioned research by well-respected independent economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel that found nearly 50 per cent of the population believed that employers have a 'used by date' for job seekers and that age was 50.
"If this is true, these discriminatory attitudes will have a major impact on businesses of all sizes. It is time that employers woke up and lost the 'use by' date," he said.
It is unlikely that Dickinson will get any argument from the federal minister for workforce participation Dr Sharman Stone, who is also speaking at the ceo forum. Dr Stone's portfolio includes employment services that cover job networks, job placement, employment and training and various incentive schemes for employers.
The cost of the event is $85pp members and $105pp non-members (costs are inclusive of GST). Forum Bookings can be made by contacting Que Nhi Luong on (02) 8789 7382 or by e-mail:
quenhi@printnet.com.au
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