New GM project to support older workers

Older jobseekers in the Greater Manchester area will be the first to trial targeted new approaches being developed to help over-50s get back to work.  

The Centre for Ageing Better, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and the Department of Work & Pensions have announced plans for the ‘Greater Manchester Employment Support for Over-50s' pilot programme to improve support models for older people. An estimated 800,000 people in the UK aged 50 to 65 want to be working but are not, with many caught in an ‘unemployment trap’. Losing a job after the age of 50 is more likely to lead to long-term unemployment or inactivity compared with job loss at younger ages.  

Many who fall out of work due to redundancies, poor health and caring responsibilities find themselves forced into early retirement, meaning that they not only have less time to earn income and contribute to pension funds, but may also begin drawing from their funds sooner, putting them at risk of poverty in later life. Research by the Centre for Ageing Better in Greater Manchester last year found that older job seekers would benefit from personalised support that could be flexible around caring commitments and health needs.  

The ‘Greater Manchester Employment Support for Over-50s’ pilot will focus on providing employment support that works for older job seekers, trialing a range of approaches with the aim of finding a successful model that can inform national government policy.  A "Request for Information" document is attached below for providers that are interested in expressing interest.

Source: Centre for Aging Better