A second chance for employables older than 55
'The reality is that one day you wake up, and realise your earning days are over.'
There is a common misconception in the workspace that employees older than 55 can no longer contribute to the ultimate success of a business.
On a mission to bust the distorted belief, locals Dianne Malan, Sandi Ginsberg en Carol Maila came up with the initiative to create a platform for older employees still hoping to be productive members of society.
This concept was born after Dianne experienced being overlooked in a job interview because of her age.
“It’s not age in itself, but the implication around it. I am at the age of retirement. I know how it feels to still have so much time and energy to give, but be disregarded because I’m not young enough,” Dianne explained.
They hope that the project, called Re-Ignite would ultimately form a subsidiary company as part of an existing overarching recruitment agency – the main focus being to provide the ‘forgotten’ members of society with a chance to put their experience gained over the years to good use.
This would also provide the perfect opportunity for individuals who don’t have a sufficient pension to live from.
“The reality is that one day you wake up, and realise your earning days are over. We all know how life goes – you use your savings for emergencies, potential business opportunities or for the children. The next, you’re out of retirement funds and have nowhere to turn to. Some of them might have lost their jobs, and are in dire need of something in order to look after themselves,” they explained.
“We really hope to make employers aware of our ability to still contribute to their businesses. There are countless advantages. The older employee comes not only with experience, but knowledge, loyalty, dedication and stability. We’ve done the research. Not everyone over 55 is tired and frail; most are still up for the challenge. They can even serve as dedicated mentors in the workplace as they have such diverse experience.”
The core message they’d like to get across to businesses is simply not to take someone’s age into consideration as the older generation is still just as employable as the younger generation.
Even though the passionate trio hopes to officially launch the project in the middle of April, job-seekers older than 55 are welcome to apply – at no cost, of course.
If you are an employer, or an employee, and want to find out more about Re-Ignite, feel free to contact Dianne on 082 853 2715 or send an email to dijohnston32@gmail.com.
