|
How to become an Age Positive Champion?
 To become an Age Positive Champion, you must submit
evidence of your commitment to Age Positive practice. For
example, a formal age policy or personnel guidance that has had a positive impact on your
organisation. If you do not have a formal
policy on age, you could instead provide case studies and statistics that demonstrate your
organisation’s age-friendly recruitment, training and development processes.
See the Age Positive website – www.agepositive.gov.uk
The Age Discrimination Act
comes into force in October of 2006 and Laterlife Learning has introduced Workshops for
HR departments to support organisations in preparing for the
legislation:
Preparing for
the Age Discrimination Act
IF THEY CAN DO IT…
Age Positive runs an annual award scheme. Here
are some of the winners for 2003
Evelyn Spink tells how she ended her marriage, found a
new life and became a shining example for the Age Positive campaign
At 58, Evelyn Spink seemed to have it all. A
beautiful home, an enviable life-style as the wife of an executive Sales Director, a car
and luxury holidays abroad. But, soon after she retired from her full-time job with Oxfam,
she realised that life felt empty and pointless despite it all. And she realised
that the only person who could fill it meaningfully was she herself.
She says: "I expected life to be peaceful
after retirement but my husband and I had a cold relationship. Despite all the
material benefits of my life, I suddenly realised just how empty it was and I wanted
more. I suspect many women feel the same way. I tried to put the relationship
back on track, but when that didn’t work, I decided to end the
relationship. It’s taken time but I’ve finally got the decree nisi now and
am waiting for the absolute.
"I’ve had an ear for music and a natural
talent for playing the piano since I was a small child, although I only ever had three
or four lessons. I saw an advertisement for the Associated Boards of the Royal
Schools of Music and thought: "That’s it. I’ll combine my music with
a new career as a piano teacher. I decided to take a certificate in teaching,
attending lectures over weekends during a nine months period. You can do the course
over two years if you want to, and I started to teach piano to children in my spare
time. It was the career I’d always yearned for.
"I started working in a paid capacity at Peterborough
Cathedral too. And recently I finally moved out
of the marital home and into a home that’s my very own so I’m about to embark on
becoming a DIY enthusiast, as well as enjoying my old hobbies, sewing, gardening, walking
and swimming. I’m planning to travel too, not to the five-star hotels of my old
life, but seeing the way people really live, beyond the tourist spots of places such as Haiti and the Caribbean.
"Since moving and starting to teach in the
village that is now my home, I’ve made many new and younger friends through my
pupils. I am more content now than ever before.”
Arlene Gurney became a trainer in later life, and has
had success that she never dreamt was possible
Arlene never guessed at the tender age of 17 with a
career as a professional dancer and member of the TV Tiller Girls that one day she would
find herself passionate about helping people over 50 to get back into work.
After a varied career path Arlene found herself
working in training at the age of 52. Whilst taking and developing training courses Arleen
became frustrated as she realised that many employers thought the over 50s were too old,
stuck in their ways, and therefore unemployable. Incensed and frustrated that this
valuable group of people were being put on the scrap heap Arlene decided to research the
subject. Following the research Arlene constructed her own course addressing prejudice,
low self esteem, lack of motivation as well as re-training, skill transference, up
dating existing skills and learning new ones, as well as showing groups how to market the
experience and skills they possessed.
Arlene's course was so successful that
it was introduced into every Age Positive Programme Centre across the country.
Arlene now works as an independent consultant, making links with companies in Plymouth to ensure they are educated about the
advantages of employing mature people.
Isobel Barrett went job-hunting at the age of 54, and
wouldn’t take no for an answer
In May 2001 a
furniture company based in Nottingham
made
Isobel redundant.
Out of work for the first time in her life at the age of 54, her reaction was: “Help!
What do I do?” She listed all her
qualifications, registered with various organizations and received emails back saying
"sorry we have no vacancies in your area or for the type of work your looking
for".
In the first month
she sent 42 letters and 18 emails
applying for jobs she had seen available. She received only one reply. Was it her age or the fact that she had rheumatic
arthritis? What she wanted to say to the
organisations was: “Excuse
me, but I applied to you for a sales job, you're a sales rep agency, what’s the
problem?”
To add to the
strain, Isobel’s cottage was flooded.
“We lost everything we owned on the ground floors, we were homeless. For seven months we had to live in a holiday let,
which didn't have a telephone and this made job searching all the more difficult.”
From then on
her search for work took on a new challenge. The local job centre was supportive. Each day Isobel would set aside at least 4 hours
for job search
To keep in touch
with other people she volunteered to work at her local Help the Aged offices. But the strain was beginning to tell and she was
becoming depressed. Finally in September she received a telephone call from a friend about
a vacancy at a local firm, Barfields.
 “Maria
Boots the Nottingham Manager at Barfield gave back to me the confidence I had lost. I
felt valued and needed, and happily I went along to the interview knowing that no matter
what, I had a lot to offer. I am now helping others who are in a similar situation as I
was. I would love to stand on the highest tower in order to make Industry aware, being
over 45 is not ‘the end’ - talk to us we have so much to offer, give us a
chance.”
|
