abstract: 'Objectives: To identify and track the progress of mature age workers who

  have overcome barriers associated with their age. To identify factors

  contributing to successful employment outcomes for older workers. To

  evaluate the success rate of service providers in facilitating access to

  the labour market for older workers.

  Methods: Three job network providers were approached: Mission

  Employment, Salvation Army Employment Plus and Work Ventures Inc. All

  three agreed to provide addresses of clients aged 45 years and over to

  be reached through a mail questionnaire. A total of 700 questionnaires

  were dispatched anonymously with the cooperation of these three

  organisations. A small number of follow-up interviews were also

  conducted with survey respondents who indicated their willingness to be

  interviewed, and had signed a consent form for this purpose. Several

  interviews were also conducted with staff at the three cooperating

  agencies.

  Results: Of the 700 questionnaires dispatched, 163 were returned, giving

  a response rate of 23\%. Among the respondents, 82 were employed at the

  time and 81 were unemployed. There were approximately equal responses

  from men and women. Of the 82 employed persons, 48 had obtained jobs

  either through answering advertisements or through personal contacts.

  Only 19 had obtained employment through a job network agency. The most

  important barrier to employment was identified as age, followed by lack

  of specialised skills.

  Conclusions: Early intervention is essential. The chances of

  re-employment decline steadily with the duration of unemployment. Age

  discrimination stands out as the major obstacle to re-employment for

  older workers. Personal connections and specialised skills are more

  important than the activities of job network agencies. Job seekers are

  also handicapped by inflexibility in relation to training, travel to new

  locations, and acceptance of a different kind of job.'
affiliation: 'Encel, S (Corresponding Author), Univ New S Wales, Social Policy Res
  Ctr, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

  Encel, Sol; Studencki, Helen, Univ New S Wales, Social Policy Res Ctr, Sydney, NSW,
  Australia.'
author: Encel, Sol and Studencki, Helen
author-email: s.encel@unsw.edu.au
author_list:
- family: Encel
  given: Sol
- family: Studencki
  given: Helen
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1111/j.1741-6612.2004.00006.x
files: []
issn: 1440-6381
journal: AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING
keywords: discrimination; mature-age workers; unemployment
language: English
month: MAR
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '10'
pages: 33-37
papis_id: 4c43e1ad0280c6b35f7359963c0cdd05
ref: Encel2004olderworkers
times-cited: '16'
title: 'Older workers: can they succeed in the job market?'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000208438200007
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '6'
volume: '23'
web-of-science-categories: Geriatrics \& Gerontology; Gerontology
year: '2004'