Employers’ focus on skills over age creates opportunities for older workers

Our working lives keep being stretched. By 2033, nearly a third of over-70s are expected to still be working, according to a survey by recruiter Korn Ferry. 

And with delayed retirement, companies face a profound structural challenge: how to keep a workforce skilled, motivated and agile over a career spanning 40 or even 50 years. There is a hill to climb.

Almost half of baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) and more than a third of Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1980) feel excluded from opportunities to learn new skills and technology, says Korn Ferry, which warns of an age disparity in access to professional development.

Companies tackling these issues are realising that the old corporate pyramid, where mid-career meant managing people and late-career meant winding down, no longer fits an economy defined by artificial intelligence and disruption.

Michael Kienle, personal care group L’Oréal’s global vice-president of talent acquisition, says the focus must remain on capability, not chronology. “Talent management stops at your very last day in the company. It’s not a question of age, it’s about skills and competencies,” he says.

“People say, ‘I want to be of benefit for the company. I want the company to use my knowledge.’” Sometimes, Kienle adds, that can be achieved by what would once have been perceived as sidesteps into complementary but not advanced roles that enable upskilling. “They’re not even considered sidesteps anymore,” he says.

That mindset shift is central to the longevity challenge, says Zoe Cunningham, director at technology consultancy Softwire. Businesses must stop treating “mid- and late-career staff as finished products”, she says. “We talk a lot about upskilling the next generation, but if someone in their fifties has 20 years of work ahead of them, why wouldn’t you invest just as much in their development?”

Experience, Cunningham insists, is an asset, not a ceiling. Older employees bring perspective and calm — qualities that can anchor fast-moving industries. “Skills don’t expire,” she says, “but they do need updating. The tech might change, but the mindset of curiosity is what keeps people relevant.”

At Softwire, “life-long, bidirectional learning” is now embedded, Cunningham says. “We’ve had situations where a graduate has taught a senior engineer about a new coding framework and then learnt from them how to communicate that to a client. That’s what a healthy culture looks like.”

Skills don’t expire, but they do need updating. The tech might change, but the mindset of curiosity is what keeps people relevant

Retraining, she adds, must lose its stigma as something only for the inexperienced. Softwire’s schemes include coaching for experienced staff moving into new roles — including flexible leadership positions — rather than pre-retirement roles focused solely on knowledge transfer. “The point is to design learning around the person, not their age,” Cunningham says.

It is a philosophy shared by Mastercard, whose workforce spans graduates in their twenties to employees with 50 years’ tenure. Lucrecia Borgonovo, the payment services company’s chief talent and organisational effectiveness officer, says: “We’re taking a more skills-first approach versus focusing on traditional parameters like experiences or degrees. That helps democratise access to opportunities across the workforce.”

Artificial intelligence is a key enabler. Mastercard’s Unlocked platform acts as an internal marketplace where employees post their skills and interests, then match with projects, mentors or learning opportunities. 

“All of my mentors on the platform are people much earlier in their career than myself. They’ve helped me increase my comfort and confidence with new technologies,” Borgonovo says.

Mastercard has also built two different routes for advancement. “Employees can progress as leaders or deepen their expertise as distinguished engineers or Mastercard Fellows,” she explains. “We provide individuals with different career paths so we can meet people where they are in their journey.”

Yet, as employees stay longer, movement up the corporate ladder can slow. L’Oréal’s Kienle calls it a “dual-edged sword”. “People are retiring later; they’re working in non-traditional patterns increasingly,” he says. “If people stay in senior posts longer, we must stop that blocking younger talent while still valuing the knowledge accumulated over 30 years.”

To manage this balance, the company has launched L’Oréal for All Generations, a programme focused on intergenerational learning. Senior employees mentor younger staff, while reverse mentoring ensures older colleagues stay current on AI and digital tools. The company also runs pre-retirement seminars to help employees plan for life after work.

It seems that as people live and work longer, the challenge for employers is to commit to creating continuous opportunities for all staff to learn while helping older, more experienced talent stay relevant.

‘It is never too late to start over’

When Kim Aitchison joined the Bank of England in her late fifties, it was her first full-time job in almost 30 years. “It felt like being a graduate again, except this time I had three grown-up children and a lot more life experience,” she says.

Aitchison, now 63, is among a growing number of people restarting their careers later in life. After an early career in finance in Canada, she stepped away in the 1990s to raise her family. “I never planned to be a stay-at-home mum,” she says. “But my first daughter had severe allergies, and no day care would take her. I thought I’d be home for a few years — and then 18 years passed.”

When her youngest left for university, she decided to return to work. “My friends said, ‘Nobody will hire you if you haven’t worked for 30 years,’” she recalls. Then she found Career Returners, a programme that helps professionals resume work after long breaks.

“They were fantastic,” she says. “They didn’t just find you an interview, they helped you get ready for it.” Through the scheme, she joined the Bank of England in 2021 as part of a 20-person cohort of people who also had career breaks. “They gave us coaching on confidence, balance and practical skills. They just knew what we were feeling at the right time.”

Career Returners gave us coaching on confidence, balance and practical skills. They just knew what we were feeling at the right time

Starting during the Covid lockdown was daunting. “Everything was virtual. I didn’t even know how to use [Microsoft] Teams,” she laughs. “Our cohort were WhatsApping each other asking, ‘How do you log in?’”

She soon shifted to a four-day week. “At my age, full-time was exhausting,” she admits. “Now I work Monday to Thursday and have Friday to get my life back in balance.”

Now part of the BoE’s Age Network, Aitchison mentors younger colleagues. “A young colleague teaches me technology and I help her with confidence in meetings. It’s mutually beneficial.”

She is still guided by her mother’s advice: “As long as my legs work, I’ll keep walking,” she smiles. “I think I’ve taken that to heart — just keep learning, keep contributing.”