February 13, 2001 11:02: AN EMPLOYMENT research project in Buckinghamshire has shown a complete turnaround in attitude towards staff aged over 50.

The escalating skills shortage in the Thames Valley seems to have forced managers to wake up to the fact that older employees can be an asset to their company, offering much experience and knowledge.

The Buckinghamshire Lifelong Learning Partnership commissioned Target (Thames Action and Resource Group for Education and Training Ltd) to carry out the research following demographic forecasts from Thames Valley Enterprise and others showing that the 29-45 age group will decline over the coming years, adding to the already serious skills shortage in the region.

Target carried out in-depth discussions with owners or managers of 40 small and medium-sized companies with between five and 400 employees in Bucks last year and found:

Rather than discriminating against the over-50s, more than 80 per cent viewed hiring employees in this age group as very positive, bringing to the company knowledge, experience, reliability and enthusiasm

Some 58 per cent of companies said they preferred to recruit the 50-plus applicant and earmarked positions for this age group

All the companies interviewed said they were concerned that they had difficulty in finding people in this age group to employ

There was also concern about the way some applicants presented themselves in a negative way, as if being over 50 would be a deterrent to the company and that this attitude was reflected by some job agencies

Roger Petts, author of the report, said: "This research has shown that a very good labour source already exists among the over-50s.

"Previous research had suggested there was a negative attitude towards older applicants and it is believed that a significant change had occurred because more and more companies are experiencing difficulty in finding people to employ and consequently they have been forced to change their attitudes to age."

Mr Petts said action should be taken to encourage a positive attitude from applicants and agencies.

Brian Paine, of the Buckinghamshire Lifelong Learning Partnership, said: "We have established that attitudes are changing and that is a good thing because ageism is not what we want in Bucks when there is a clear need in the county for skills and experience. We hope we have stimulated an important debate."

New research from the Open University Business School has shown that older workers will continue to face a tough future due to mergers and the growth of technology in traditional financial services firms.

The report urges employers to recognise the skills of older workers and retrain them rather than encourage them to volunteer for redundancy.