Ageism makes it difficult for people over 50 to enter the market

A 2022 survey by the company Ernst & Young and the Maturi agency, carried out in almost 200 companies in Brazil, showed the profile of the job market for people over 50 years old. Most of the companies surveyed have between 6% and 10% of people aged over 50 in their staff. According to the study, 78% of companies consider themselves age groups and have barriers to hiring workers in this age group.

Ernst & Young specializes in audits, taxes and consulting and the Maturi agency specializes in training professionals over 50 years of age and connecting with companies interested in hiring these people. Maturi currently has more than 200,000 professionals and around 750 partner companies registered in its base.

The aging of the workforce in the country is a challenge that Brazil will have to face. Based on the National Household Sample Survey (Pnad), prepared by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Ernst & Young and Maturi study revealed that, from 2012 to 2019, the share of the population aged over 50 went from 23% to 28%. Estimates indicate that by 2040 six out of ten Brazilian workers will be over 45 years of age. IBGE figures show that, in 17 million Brazilian families, economic support is up to people over 60 years old.

The founder of the Maturi agency, Mórris Litvak, said that in the beginning it was called MaturiJobs, but, over time, it expanded its actions and, since 2020, it has been known as Maturi. “Maturi is much more than Jobs because we also talk about entrepreneurship, many forms of work. And there is still the whole challenge of changing this company culture, because the number of openings is still small”, said Litvak, in an interview with Vladimir Platonov from the TV Brazil.

According to Litvak, the difficulty of entering the job market can come from the person himself, who considers himself too old to look for a job. “There is a lot of what we call auto-age, which is the person with prejudice even with their own age, because they think they are old and think that learning to do something is something for young people. Self-prejudice is also a mistake because today, people live a lot (and people) cannot limit themselves. On the contrary, joining the experiences can be a great differentiator, ”he said.

For him, the Brazilian job market is not prepared for the demand, which is increasing, given the aging population and life expectancy, which has been increasing.

“Prejudice is still very strong in the job market. It’s part of our culture as a whole, but in the workplace, it’s even worse. What needs to be done is to educate. We do a lot at Maturi: sensitization, awareness on the subject to understand the importance and even urgency of changing this ageist culture and how this can be beneficial for the company”, he said. Litvak said that awareness can even be a strategic issue for companies.

The consultant pointed out that the profile of professionals over 50 years of age is one of maturity and focus on work, in addition to life experience. “Normally, people at this age already have raised children, they have their home and are working for a purpose and they value the opportunity they have very much. It is a great advantage and ends up being an example for younger people.”

He said that he began to pay more attention to the issue when observing the behavior of his grandmother, who worked until old age and was very active. “She was doing very well while working, aged 82. When she stopped, her health declined a lot. I had already done volunteer work at a nursing home and I was interested in the subject. I started to study, I discovered that the world was aging, Brazil, faster, and little was said about it ten years ago.”, Litvak pointed out that the issue of work caused a lot of pain in the sense that age weighed on him. for people to remain or return to the labor market.

employers

Since last year, the supermarket chain Assaí Atacadista has had a 50+ Program, created with the objective of “expanding the age group for inclusion and extending the program to all areas of the company, aiming to increase the employability of professionals 50 +, in addition to continuously developing their skills and competences”.

In addition to the program, Assaí develops actions to maintain a bank of talents on the Gupy platform, which is intended for the enrollment of 50+ talents. Along with this, the group also carries out ‘literacy campaigns and actions, training, sensitization and awareness of all its employees, which generate learning and contribute to the fight against prejudice and discrimination”.

According to data from the supermarket chain, from 2020 to 2022, the number of employees over 50 years of age in the company’s workforce increased by 90%.

The manager of the Personnel Department at Super Pax Rede Economia supermarkets, Raquel Araújo, said that the company does not have a specific policy for hiring people over 50 years old, but employs many professionals in this age group. “They come with different baggage, another perspective, another commitment,” she told Brazil Agency.

According to Raquel, many customers identify with more experienced employees, and the company is well regarded in the market. At the same time, living with younger employees results in an exchange of experiences that pleases both parties. “In this exchange of experiences, young people learn some things, take others and it’s really cool”, she added, informing that the chain has nine stores in the north and west regions of the capital of Rio de Janeiro.

The State Secretariat for Work and Income of the government of Rio de Janeiro has a program that guides companies in the process of hiring people over 50 years old, but, at the moment, it is not active.

In Rio City Hall, the Municipal Secretariat for Labor and Income manages the job bank that receives resumes from candidates of different ages. The folder also has a list of partner companies that inform which professionals and specializations are in need of hiring. For the secretariat, the exchange of information results in a successful degree of insertion.

For this year, the secretariat is preparing to launch a pilot project to encourage 60+ entrepreneurship, which, in principle, will serve 40 elderly people.

“With the growing demand from companies for workers with a 50+ profile, we are working to increase the number of vacancies for this public in our partner companies. We included in our work plan for 2023/2024 the age group in the list of new employability projects. We already have success stories in this age group, but now we want to scale it up, starting with a pilot project in partnership with Instituto Besouro de Fomento ao Empreendedorismo 60+, initially assisting 40 professionals”, informed secretary Everton Gomes to Brazil Agency.

Currently, the Rio City Hall job database has over 400,000 CVs submitted.