Employers declare openness, labor offices offer funding, and professionals over 50 are eager to work. So why is the system failing? Zuzanna Staszewska-Jedynasty explores the barriers causing us to lose the potential of experienced workers in her latest piece for Business Insider.
A crucial voice in the article belongs to our Foundation’s co-founder, Agnieszka Operhalska, who highlights the obstacles that make mature candidates “invisible” to recruiters.
Why do candidates disappear from the radar?
The article identifies specific flaws in current recruitment processes:
- ATS Systems: Software used to screen CVs often automatically filters out older candidates. Even without a birth date, AI can estimate age based on years of experience.
- Targeted Language: Job ads calling for “young, dynamic teams” discourage those over 50 from applying, making them feel unwelcome from the start.
- Siloed Efforts: Employers, labor offices, and candidates operate independently, lacking a common language or a unified strategy.
Heart and Mind Foundation as a Hub for Change
In the interview with Business Insider, we emphasize that NGOs are the “missing link” in this system. Our goal is to initiate change by acting as a bridge between businesses, government offices, and candidates. We also propose bold systemic solutions, such as the voluntary waiver of pre-retirement protection, which could open the market for many specialists.
“Companies must stop treating pre-retirement age like an expiration date and start seeing it as a valuable asset to be utilized wisely” concludes Agnieszka Operhalska.
We highly recommend reading this analysis. It is a vital contribution to the discussion on the waste of human potential—a loss our economy simply cannot afford.
Read the full article on Business Insider (Polish): Click
