Carol Taylor Mid-Life and Mid-Career Reviews

THE MID LIFE (CAREER) REVIEW “An increasing number of women will enter the workforce over the coming two decades – 56 per cent of the net increase in jobs between 2010 and 2020 are expected to be filled by women (Wilson et al., 2012), a tendency which will continue until Further, the skills level gap between the genders is widening until 2020 with 46 per cent (2010: 35 per cent) of females higher skilled compared to 42 per cent (2010: 33 per cent) of males (Bosworth, 2012). Consequently, it is expected that women’s roles and ranks within the workplace will increase.” The future of work, UKCES 2013

Context for the ‘Mid-Life Career Review’ Project (NIACE )  Ageing society/Ageing Well  Extending Working Lives agenda  Impact of the removal of statutory retirement age  Impact of increasing age for receipt of state pension  Focus on transitions – at all life stages  Careers Service for adults  Women into senior leadership positions  Women on grandparenting duty

Retaining older learners - UK  The most recent estimate (March 2014) is that over the ten year period there will be about 14.5 million job openings that employers will want to fill (12.5 million of these from people leaving the labour market and 1.9 million additional jobs created).  Older adults leave work because of: - health and disability - caring responsibilities - redundancy

Key features of the project  18 partners  2,500+ clients  Piloting  Models  Materials  Research and evaluation

Key questions  How well prepared are providers to respond to the needs of this age group?  What are the gender findings and implications of the MLCR?  How can training help older people to make better career/retirement choices?  What are employers’ attitudes towards career reviews and guidance for older workers, especially women?  How could services and Government support provision most effectively and economically?

First Findings (1)  The focus on mid-life encourages clients to consider extending their engagement in the paid labour market in a positive and realistic way  Managing an extended “working life” is vital for the success and well- being of individuals, families and employers  There are a range of models which enable a tailored approach: group work, face-to-face, telephone

First Findings (2)  The role of peers, Champions, volunteers and Learning Reps is very effective in supporting the MLCR  Highlighted literacy and numeracy needs, lack of knowledge about pensions and finances generally, and lack of confidence  Careers Advisers welcomed the project as did clients, whether employed or unemployed

The client view “Specific connections to helpful financial advice.” “Being able to discuss openly my career options including all my hopes and fears.” “Someone understood what I might want to do in my job, in my particular situation.” “Continual promotion is not the only way to go.” “People want to think about a mixture of volunteering, family, moving house, taking up completely different careers like art or therapy and think ‘Yes, I can actually do something’.”

The Mid-Life Career Review and Gender  Little difference regarding motivations to engage with project  Noticeable number of women compared to men taken time out of work to raise children or take up caring role, or wanted to talk about how to manage caring responsibilities  Pilots such as ‘Work for Us’ in MK found in-depth, one-to-one sessions for women empowered them to take steps towards career goals

The interim recommendations of the Commission on Older Women are:  The Commission believes that employers’ organisations should develop a national ‘Top 100 age-friendly employers’ scheme.  The Commission would like to see employment programmes funded by the Government demonstrating that they support older women. This could include active targeting and tailored support for older women.  The pay gap between men and women is wider for older women. So we want to see gender pay audits brought in, as set out in the 2010 Equality Act (Section 78).  Older women can face double discrimination – on the grounds of gender and age. The Equality Act already has provisions to tackle this but they have not yet been brought into effect. The Government should do this now.  The Commission would like to see much better careers service support for older workers.  Employers should show flexibility to allow for changes to working patterns as women take on caring responsibilities or move towards retirement. Changes to working hours and job redesign should be offered.

 The Commission believes that carers often do not know their rights and do not get proper support. We would like to see public bodies actively identifying carers to offer help. Public policy needs to recognise the vital contribution to the economy that older women make as carers. So flexible employment and well designed jobs are important to enable them to balance work and care and deal with issues of financial hardship or the health and well-being of carers.  Short-term flexibility or ‘adjustment leave’ would help older women workers deal with immediate caring crises and allow time to adjust to a new caring role.  Thought should be given to the role of grandmothers who combine work and care for their grandchildren The Commission on Older Women September 2013

The Mid-Life Review Reviewing your job/life at 35-45: As young women have children at an older age, they tend to begin to think about life outside at around As young women get increasingly annoyed at being paid less/being overlooked for promotion, but also begin to question whether they want to ‘aim for the top’/make a sideways move or even downsize their role. As more options open for women in the workplace As they have healthier parents to grandparent! Younger women in this stage begin to consider where their life and career is going. They want to be able to consider the options open to them, the staff development and training they could access; how to negotiate conditions and salary; how to deal with and address being ‘overlooked’; how to negotiate their caring responsibilities.

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