Understanding what employers are looking for and how they go about finding workers can assist mature age job seekers find employment, tailor an application, and prepare their approach. This research captured information on why employers thought their mature age applicants were successful or not in getting the job. It also examined strategies and supports employers extended to successful mature aged candidates, and whether these conditions were available to all staff. The analysis looks at how these findings varied by business size, industry, occupation, and skill level.

Key findings 

• Just over one third of employers reported having a mature age applicant in the previous 12 months.
• Employers commonly hired a mature age applicant because of their experience, positive attitude, strong work ethic and qualifications and/or skills.
• When an employer hadn’t employed a mature age applicant, experience and qualification and/or skills were some of the reasons mature aged candidates were not hired for the vacancy.
• The strategy most used by employers to support mature age workers was allowing flexible work conditions. That included flexible work hours, part-time hours, and flexible location such as working from home. However, it should be noted that almost three quarters of the employers that had implemented flexible work conditions for the successful mature applicants cited that they were available to all staff.