Anyone experienced age-ism in Australia?

[BuddysMum]

My OH has just been chatting online with a friend who is currently living in Adelaide. He works as a contractor in IT in a fairly specialised field. He is in his mid 40s.

 

He says that he has experienced some problems getting work because the employers prefer young employees. The situation is getting so bad for him that he is considering leaving Australia.

 

OH is also mid 40s and a contractor in IT but in a different, very specialised field, and this is ringing some alarm bells.

 

So....are there any other "old" PIO members around? Have you experienced this attitude? Is it more prevalent in Adelaide or is it a national issue?

[Becontree Boy]

I'm 53 and have 18 years IT experience. I've worked 4 desktop support contracts in 2 years before landing a permanent position. I worked in Brisbane and then Melbourne and my hourly rates varied between $25 to $35. The permanent post I have now pays $80k for desktop support which is better than the basic rate I got in the UK for doing server support.

 

I got most jobs I went for, so from my personal experience I don't think age was a problem. I think experience and skillset are much more important issues. The more Australian experience you get, the better it is. It really is a virtuous circle.

 

November to February are fallow months. Your husband should make sure he has a contract to cover this period lined up in advance.

 

It's also worth targeting the larger companies and checking out their HR policies. If you spot mentions of "Diversity" then that's a firm to go for. That means that the company is making positive efforts to increase the ethnic mix and age range of its workforce. And, in the case of the firm I work for, the rhetoric matches the reality.

 

http://seek.com.au and http://careerone.com.au have most of the contract roles.

[Quoll]

Not in IT but just generally it is well known that employers prefer younger employees for the most part (they are often cheaper for starters). This is subtly true in the public service for all their blather about diversity etc. They will never put a knock back as being due to age but there are all sorts of other ways of saying "you are over the hill granddad" and it is hard to prove the contrary. Occasionally you will get an employer - who may be older himself who will take a punt on someone older - 45 is usually considered the turning point and by 50 it gets very hard. In some organizations, "experience" may be interpreted as "stuck in a rut" and "lacking vision".

[Petals]

I do not think you can generalise. I am retired now but I always knew I could get another job because of my occupation and experience.

 

I have a friend who works in Gov and she is 65 now she was made redundant from the CBA a few years ago and got a job in gov two days a week which is what she wanted and did contract for a couple of years and this year when she turns 66 they put her on permanent. So just dont know depends what employers want.

 

Another friend also made redundant got a job with NAB at nearly sixty so there are jobs.

 

I think if you have a skill that is in demand age does not matter.

[Quoll]

My 60 year old DH just needed a change of career recently - his age was definitely against him even though his skill set would have been at least as good as, if not better than those who got the jobs (even the recruiter while not admitting it openly did allude to his age being a barrier and DH is no dope, he has been around long enough to know that ageism exists). He did get a job and he is happy with it but for a man who has never before had a problem getting a job, this was a whole new experience. May in part be to do with the economic downturn which is affecting everyone.