With more and more people retiring later these days, the over-50s make up a large proportion of the workforce. And, with the recruitment crisis currently facing our industry, offering retraining or upskilling opportunities for this age group is an effective way to foster a diverse and skilled team.
Luckily, the foodservice industry has a proud history of being non-ageist. You’re just as likely to see a senior manager in their mid-20s as you are one in their mid-50s and there are opportunities for people of all working ages to embrace.
In my view, there’s no role an 18-year-old could take on in this sector that a 50-year-old couldn’t do without the right training.
Valuable experience
We’ve seen a much bigger focus on promoting a diverse workforce over recent years, but one of the facets that doesn’t get talked about so often is age. As an industry, we should be embracing the many benefits that older employees can bring.
Not only can they share valuable life experience with their co-workers, but it’s likely that some of the skills they’ve gained in their previous roles can often be harnessed in foodservice and public sector catering.
For example, any job with a customer service element can build skills that are much needed in our field – it’s just about unlocking that within the foodservice context.
Plus, a lot of work in our sector is client-facing and customers will be drawn to spend time in environments where they see people like themselves. It’s ideal to recruit a mixture of age groups, especially if you want to appeal to a broad customer base.
Lifelong learning
Regardless of age, apprenticeships are an ideal way for people to reskill or to build on the skills they already have, whether they’re new to foodservice or want to progress further.
For years, they’ve mostly been seen as an option for school leavers, but there’s no age limit on apprenticeships. In fact, our research found that less than half of businesses (46.3%) offer apprenticeships to staff at all career levels.
This is a common misconception among employees too: only one quarter of employees (25.9%) see apprenticeships as a viable training option for anyone at any stage of their career.
However, we’re keen to ensure employees and employers recognise the benefits of training at any age, especially as our working lives are getting longer.
What’s more, recent research conducted by HIT Training found that almost two-thirds (62.5%) of hospitality businesses say they’ve struggled to retain staff over the past two years.
Yet, while almost 90% of hospitality firms believe that further training investment would help with recruitment and retention, 62.5% are put off by the risk that an employee would leave after completing their training.
It’s understandable that our research also found that three-quarters of all foodservice managers surveyed are concerned about the time it takes to upskill new members of staff at junior level in particular.
This was due to factors such as the impact this would have on customer service and extra pressure on other members of the team.
With this in mind, it is significant to note that over-50s tend to have a higher success rate in their apprenticeships than any other age group.
HIT Training apprentices in the over-50s bracket have seen a 15% higher pass rate than the 16–18-year-olds and have the lowest dropout rate of all age groups. They are also less likely to take a break in their learning.
This is why I’m keen to compel businesses to unlock rich retention opportunities for workers of any age – there really is no limit.
For employees, the benefits of training hold true at any age. There are studies showing that if you keep your brain active, it gives you a happier life. And learning new skills is a big part of that. It’s about lifelong learning, not just career-long development.
For employers, investing in training is a key part of building and retaining a loyal workforce and more and more businesses are realising that age shouldn’t be a limiting factor in this.
In fact, over the past five years, 12% of HIT apprentices have been over 50, compared to just 8% under 19 years of age.
For foodservice and public sector catering employers, investing in training is a big part of building and retaining a loyal workforce and more and more businesses are realising that age shouldn’t be a limiting factor in this.
And when it comes to over-50s, those useful skills they’re likely to have picked up throughout their working lives could lead to shorter apprenticeships and therefore reduced costs for their employers.
There are huge opportunities in hospitality for anyone who’s hard working and willing to learn – and apprenticeships are an ideal way to help them reach that potential.
Working with an experienced training provider will help public sector catering and foodservice businesses get to know what an individual of any age can learn and benefit from the most. For more information visit: https://hittraining.co.uk/.