Experience Pays Awareness Strategy - (EPAS)
Faced with the growing problem of a predicted supply shortfall, the Queensland Government is doing its part to get employers to recognise the benefits of recruiting, retraining and retaining mature-age workers.
Mature-age workers are invaluable in the workplace
Older Australians represent the fastest-growing segment of the workforce and by 2012, 85% of labour market growth will come from people aged 45 years and over. Combine this with a predicted labour supply shortfall of up to 40,000 Queensland workers within five years and you begin to understand why mature-age workers are in demand.
Some things that employers might not know about mature-age workers are:
- mature-age people are the fastest growing group of internet users
- recent studies have shown that mature-age workers are highly flexible and have
good coping skills when faced with change
- people over the age of 45 tend to stay with an employer 2.4 times longer than
younger employees and can bring reliability and loyalty to an organisation
Retaining and retraining existing mature-age employees rather than looking to the marketplace for new staff will help employers retain their corporate knowledge and reduce recruitment and induction time and costs.
As part of EPAS, eight Industry Liaison Officers have been recruited to work within employer groups and unions to ensure proper and appropriate workplace planning.
Sandra Perry has been appointed EPAS Industry Liaison Office working within the NRA
covering Retail, Hospitality and the Services Industry. Sandra can be reached on
07 3251 3000 or s.perry@nra.net.au
USEFUL LINKS
Experience Pays www.experiencepays.qld.gov.au
Diversity @ Work www.diversityatwork.com.au
Smart Small Business www.smartsmallbusiness.qld.gov.au
Business Work and Aging www.businessworkageing.org
Flexibility Works www.flexibilityworks.dewr.gov.au
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