“Fresh thinking is hugely valuable, but so too is the judgement”
Emma Durkin
Group Chief People Officer, UBDS Group
What’s UBDS’ policy on ensuring older applicants have an opportunity, and do you have top tips for best practice?
At UBDS Group, we see age diversity as an important part of building strong, balanced teams. Across our business, we’re proud to have colleagues at different stages of their careers, each bringing their own perspective, knowledge and lived experience.
Fresh thinking is hugely valuable, but so too is the judgement, confidence and insight that come from experience. Skills can be developed over time, but experience brings a depth of understanding that can’t always be fast-tracked. Organisations are stronger when they create space for both.
That’s one of the reasons UBDS Group has signed the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, a nationwide programme run by the Centre for Ageing Better. By doing so, we’re reinforcing our commitment to creating an age-friendly workplace and taking meaningful steps to support the recruitment, retention and development of workers aged 50 and over.
We also actively work with organisations that support career changers and returners. Experienced professionals are too often overlooked, despite bringing highly transferable skills, resilience and significant untapped potential. For us, building a multigenerational workforce isn’t just the right thing to do. It helps us access a wider pool of talent and benefit from the innovation, productivity and perspective that come from teams with varied life and career experience.
The tech industry has been experiencing mass layoffs since mid-2023, leading to lots of older, experienced staff entering the jobs market. What’s your advice to them?
For anyone re-entering the job market, our advice is to focus not just on job titles, but on the skills employers are looking for and to recognise the value of the experience they already have. Returner programmes, specialist recruitment partners and professional networks can all be valuable routes into opportunities that might otherwise be missed.
