Our recent research highlighted that over a third of 45 - 54-year-olds are expecting their career to change before they retire¹. However, many people are unsure how best to navigate these changes or where to get information and advice on what opportunities are out there.

There are currently an array of government employment support options available to the general public. These have been supplemented by announcements in government’s Budget for Growth² which introduced multiple mechanisms to “help people move into work, increase their hours, and extend their working lives, including for those on benefits”³. This announcement included the introduction of ‘Returnerships’ - refining existing skills programmes to make them more accessible to older workers - and increased support for the Midlife MOT strategy.

Not only is this a priority for Government, but the opposition have also laid out their plans to “modernise job centres, shift resources and guarantee local innovation in the design and delivery of employment support services”⁴.

It’s important for us to understand the views and opinions of citizens to help engage policy makers and government with the realities of real life experiences.

In order to understand public perception of these announcements we commissioned research consultancy Public First to conduct focus groups testing the following:

• What are the levels of awareness of the announcements and existing schemes?
• What barriers are stopping over 50s from accessing support?
• What would make over 50s more likely to engage with employment support?

Summary of findings

• Many over 50s feel left behind or ‘undervalued’ in the workplace
• There is scepticism about existing support offers – participants views towards jobs centres were overwhelmingly negative
• There is scepticism about who provides the support – particularly around the role of employers in the Midlife MOT.
• Many people lack the confidence to engage with present employers and whilst looking for new opportunities.

Our research has highlighted that more can be done to ensure that over 50s feel empowered to engage with Government schemes to help them change career or get back into work. There is also a need to look beyond what has been proposed by the Government so far. New programmes which are tailored to meet the needs of the over 50s can be brought together into a coherent strategy for this group. We believe this will form an important part of solving this very significant policy and economic challenge.