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Recruiter program to tackle hiring bias against people aged 50 plus launches

Peak body APSCo Australia has introduced the 'Age Inclusive Recruiter' program in collaboration with AgeInc. Marketing recruitment firm Aquent is the first to commit to this initiative.

Peak body APSCo Australia has introduced the ‘Age Inclusive Recruiter' program in collaboration with AgeInc, a firm which helps progressive employers recruit and retain people aged 50+.

Marketing recruitment firm Aquent is the first to commit to this initiative. The program is designed to acknowledge recruiters who promote an inclusive work environment, valuing employees across all age groups.

The initiative is a response to age bias prevalent in the workplace, particularly within the marketing, media, creative, and tech sectors. It aims to equip recruiters with the necessary tools, training, and data to assist clients in building diverse workforces. The Experience Advocacy Taskforce (EAT) is supporting the program's mission to combat ageism within the industry.

Aquent Managing Director Monique Richards commented on the industry's youth-centric culture: “The marketing, media, creative and tech industries are well known for having a youth centric culture, and in a world of talent shortages and longer working lives, overlooking experienced candidates based solely on their age simply doesn’t make sense. This program gives our recruiters the tools, training, and data they need to help our clients build workforces that truly reflect the strength of every generation.”

APSCo Australia CEO Lesley Horsburgh, added, “We’re launching the Age Inclusive Recruiter program to challenge the age bias that’s been limiting businesses for too long and we are absolutely delighted to welcome Aquent as a foundation member and look forward to working with them and other APSCo members to help tackle age discrimination in the workplace.”

Horsburgh highlighted the relevance of the program in light of recent findings: “The timing couldn’t be better for this initiative, as new research from AHRI and the AHRC again shows a persistent reluctance by HR managers to hire people aged over 50.”

Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham from the Experience Advocacy Taskforce (EAT) said, “APSCo’s position absolutely supports EAT’s mission of making ageism a non-issue for the next generation of marketing, media and creative industry professionals. We applaud Aquent for getting involved and for their forward-thinking approach and commitment to helping more employers look past age to instead see expertise and capability.”

AgeInc Founder Richard Spencer added, “We’re delighted to partner with APSCo and Aquent to help raise awareness of age discrimination as well as to help their members and individual recruitment consultants advise their clients how to achieve more age inclusive recruitment.”

This article originally appeared on Mi3.

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