It would seem that not only are young, thrusting, go getting, all night clubbers just about to leave UNI having problems finding an opening in the IT industry but sober, experience rich, knowledgable people with well documented and proven track records also encounter problems in the job market.
Who can afford to cast aside such valuable resources and still expect to run a profitable business? Now read on.
Why IT workers are lying about their age
By Kim Thomas
Published: March 30 2005 03:00 | Last updated: March 30 2005 03:00
Tony Wells has 30 years' experience of working in information technology, in jobs ranging from programming to senior management. Two years ago the 49-year-old decided to look for a new job and began sending his CV to recruitment agencies. In the year that followed, not a single agency called him back. As an experiment, he changed his age on his CV to 30 and had five phone calls within three days.
His experience is not unique. Two months ago Mr Wells set up an internet support group for older IT professionals who are finding it hard to get work. It now has 60 members, many of whom feel frustrated and angry at the discrimination towards the over-40s they feel is rife in the IT sector.
One member, Ruth Blackwell, who had worked continuously as an IT contractor for 14 years, lost her job in 2002 at the age of 44 and has not been able to find work since. Some agencies, she says, "said that they could not put me forward for permanent vacancies because of my age" while individual agents "made it plain that they did not want to be bothered with me".
Another member, with 25 years' experience, reports being told by agencies that he is "over-experienced" and has "too many qualifications". At the same time, the industry is reporting a shortage of skilled staff. Is it possible that a sector desperately in need of qualified staff would turn down suitable candidates because of their age?
There is some evidence to support Mr Wells's argument. A 2002 report from the Department of Work and Pensions noted that 56 per cent of IT employees are aged 35 or under, compared to 38 per cent in the workforce as a whole, while an earlier survey by the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) and Silicon.com, an IT website, found that 31 per cent of those responsible for recruitment decisions in IT "considered age in the recruitment process". Mike Rodd, director of external relations at the British Computer Society, also reports that many older members find it hard even to get interviews.
In October 2006, new laws against age discrimination come into place, and the IT sector will have to rethink its recruitment processes. Nonetheless, the impact of the new rules may not be immediate. Ann Swain, chief executive of the Association of Technology Staffing Companies, a trade body, argues that age discrimination in IT tends to be unconscious rather than deliberate: "I think there is a view that someone recruits a person like themselves. And because of the nature of IT, that has generally been someone 28 to 35, male, a graduate from a decent university. It's not because they don't want older people, they just don't think about it that much."
Another explanation, put forward by Mr Wells and others, is that employers and recruitment agencies have far too narrow a focus on finding candidates with particular technical skills. IT is a fast-moving industry, and the skills required of software developers change all the time.
Currently, the sector is experiencing a shortage of programmers skilled in recent technologies, such as the Java and XML programming languages. Employers looking for experts in these areas specify skills to recruitment agencies, who in turn use text-search software to match keywords in CVs against employer requirements.
A more intelligent approach, says Mr Wells, would be to recruit people on the basis of ability and experience, rather than particular skills: "Programming gets easier and faster, and new languages take two to three weeks to acquire."
Mr Wells is also critical of a culture that automatically moves capable programmers out of programming jobs into management positions, a culture that he says is in part responsible for the current skills shortage. "There's a problem at interviews, which is the question: 'You're over 45 - why aren't you the MD of your own company?' Well, not everyone wants to be MD of a company, and not everyone wants to go into management; some people just want to do the job they do very well."
The problem of age discrimination is compounded by the fact that the IT sector has a high proportion of staff in contract positions. Older contractors who lost their jobs after the dotcom collapse in 2000 have found themselves without redundancy packages, without company pensions and with little hope of finding new work.
Ms Blackwell has since enrolled for a postdoctoral course but says she is "dreading" a return to the job market in 2007. She cannot afford to retire.
If Mr Wells is right, then the problem of ageism in IT will be solved only when employers begin to rethink the recruitment process. The irony is, he says, "employment practices in IT are causing the skills shortage. The fast pace of change is a red herring".
Who can afford to cast aside such valuable resources and still expect to run a profitable business? Now read on.
Why IT workers are lying about their age
By Kim Thomas
Published: March 30 2005 03:00 | Last updated: March 30 2005 03:00
Tony Wells has 30 years' experience of working in information technology, in jobs ranging from programming to senior management. Two years ago the 49-year-old decided to look for a new job and began sending his CV to recruitment agencies. In the year that followed, not a single agency called him back. As an experiment, he changed his age on his CV to 30 and had five phone calls within three days.
His experience is not unique. Two months ago Mr Wells set up an internet support group for older IT professionals who are finding it hard to get work. It now has 60 members, many of whom feel frustrated and angry at the discrimination towards the over-40s they feel is rife in the IT sector.
One member, Ruth Blackwell, who had worked continuously as an IT contractor for 14 years, lost her job in 2002 at the age of 44 and has not been able to find work since. Some agencies, she says, "said that they could not put me forward for permanent vacancies because of my age" while individual agents "made it plain that they did not want to be bothered with me".
Another member, with 25 years' experience, reports being told by agencies that he is "over-experienced" and has "too many qualifications". At the same time, the industry is reporting a shortage of skilled staff. Is it possible that a sector desperately in need of qualified staff would turn down suitable candidates because of their age?
There is some evidence to support Mr Wells's argument. A 2002 report from the Department of Work and Pensions noted that 56 per cent of IT employees are aged 35 or under, compared to 38 per cent in the workforce as a whole, while an earlier survey by the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) and Silicon.com, an IT website, found that 31 per cent of those responsible for recruitment decisions in IT "considered age in the recruitment process". Mike Rodd, director of external relations at the British Computer Society, also reports that many older members find it hard even to get interviews.
In October 2006, new laws against age discrimination come into place, and the IT sector will have to rethink its recruitment processes. Nonetheless, the impact of the new rules may not be immediate. Ann Swain, chief executive of the Association of Technology Staffing Companies, a trade body, argues that age discrimination in IT tends to be unconscious rather than deliberate: "I think there is a view that someone recruits a person like themselves. And because of the nature of IT, that has generally been someone 28 to 35, male, a graduate from a decent university. It's not because they don't want older people, they just don't think about it that much."
Another explanation, put forward by Mr Wells and others, is that employers and recruitment agencies have far too narrow a focus on finding candidates with particular technical skills. IT is a fast-moving industry, and the skills required of software developers change all the time.
Currently, the sector is experiencing a shortage of programmers skilled in recent technologies, such as the Java and XML programming languages. Employers looking for experts in these areas specify skills to recruitment agencies, who in turn use text-search software to match keywords in CVs against employer requirements.
A more intelligent approach, says Mr Wells, would be to recruit people on the basis of ability and experience, rather than particular skills: "Programming gets easier and faster, and new languages take two to three weeks to acquire."
Mr Wells is also critical of a culture that automatically moves capable programmers out of programming jobs into management positions, a culture that he says is in part responsible for the current skills shortage. "There's a problem at interviews, which is the question: 'You're over 45 - why aren't you the MD of your own company?' Well, not everyone wants to be MD of a company, and not everyone wants to go into management; some people just want to do the job they do very well."
The problem of age discrimination is compounded by the fact that the IT sector has a high proportion of staff in contract positions. Older contractors who lost their jobs after the dotcom collapse in 2000 have found themselves without redundancy packages, without company pensions and with little hope of finding new work.
Ms Blackwell has since enrolled for a postdoctoral course but says she is "dreading" a return to the job market in 2007. She cannot afford to retire.
If Mr Wells is right, then the problem of ageism in IT will be solved only when employers begin to rethink the recruitment process. The irony is, he says, "employment practices in IT are causing the skills shortage. The fast pace of change is a red herring".
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I'm sick of seeing IT Graduate roles advertised where they want 1 to 3 years commercial experience and a list of languages and skill sets as long as your arm. Oh yes don't forget young and dynamic with a keen interest in sport as well. You will be assimilated......