\n<\/p>\n
All three workers CNA spoke to believed their age likely put them at a disadvantage with employers.<\/p>\n
In the Tsao Foundation survey, close to one in two workers aged 51 to 64 reported not being shortlisted or selected for a job due to their age, despite being qualified.<\/p>\n
Age matters, but some hiring considerations relate more to the seniority that comes with it than to a candidate’s age itself, said Mr Adrian Choo, a career coach and founder of human resource consultancy Career Agility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith age comes cost, comes seniority, comes a specialisation or an overgeneralisation of skills and experience,\u201d said the former headhunter, adding that this tends to make senior hires more expensive than junior ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving said that, there is still a preference for younger workers \u2026 either from an energy standpoint or from a perception of energy standpoint,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Workplace Fairness Act, which takes effect in 2027, lists age as a protected characteristic. Concerns have already been raised in parliament about the difficulty of proving that an employer’s adverse decision was due to discrimination.<\/p>\n
Mr Choo’s advice to older jobseekers: \u201cDon\u2019t look for a job, look for work.\u201d<\/p>\n
If interviews are not producing full-time offers, candidates could make more headway by identifying specific problems that need solving in a company and offering their services on a part-time basis first, he said.<\/p>\n
These form the building blocks of “portfolio careers”, an option he commonly suggests to mature workers. Portfolio careers generate multiple streams of income from several different projects or part-time jobs, rather than one full-time position.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged the switch is not easy. Introverted workers may find it hard to market their skills this way, and those with more generic skills may struggle to meet businesses’ specific needs. Not every worker can reach “full capacity”, where earnings from different projects add up to full-time pay, he said.<\/p>\n
For Mr Lee, the former packaging firm director, it took a mindset shift and a long time to come round to the idea of a portfolio career.<\/p>\n
But once he committed, fellow jobseekers and his coach felt he became “a different person”, he said. “I’m more extroverted. I’m able to present in a much more positive way, much more confident.”<\/p>\n
In October, he facilitated his first AI hands-on training session with fellow jobseekers from The Courage Chapter, a social enterprise that champions inclusive employment for older professionals.<\/p>\n
It brought him joy when participants got excited about applying what they learnt, he said. \u201cAt least you achieve something and you help out with something.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n