COTA Victoria has designed the employment support programs to help people aged 50+ along their training and employment pathway. COTA Victoria understands the needs of people aged 50+, their willingness to learn, continue to work and make a difference, as well as the various barriers they may face when re-entering the workforce.
Current Employment Support programs for people aged 50+
- Women Working Together – Together with female mentors, we build on the confidence and skills needed for women aged 50+ to apply for a job and help break down the barriers to finding employment.
- Locals Working Together – A pre-vocational training program designed to support people aged 50+ along their training and employment pathway into the Community Service or Healthcare sectors.
| Interested in becoming a Mentor ? Places are still available to become a Mentor to support people aged 50+ reach their goals.Becoming a Mentor will allow you to use your professional skills and lived experience to support other women in your community. We will provide training to build your mentoring skills and expand on your community leadership abilities. To express you interest as a mentor Register Here |
What have we learned?
People aged 50+ can face various barriers when re-entering the workforce, and we have to be able to address those needs:
- Recruitment practices need to address unconscious bias towards jobseekers aged 50+, for example, by having an age-diverse recruitment panel, an inclusive language in job ads, and offering flexible work arrangements and workplace modifications if required.
- We need to be address internalised ageism and lack of self-confidence in jobseekers aged 50+. This could be achieved through ongoing emotional and wellbeing support provided by a mentor and/or peer support network.
- When planning a career for someone aged 50+, it is essential to consider their life experience, skills, values, work style, cultural preferences, and income needs. Once we identify this, it must match industry knowledge of workforce demand and which industries value life experience and enable opportunities to re-train.
- People aged 50+ are often willing to re-train, learn new skills or change their careers. They may, however, require tailored support such as emotional and self-confidence support as well as educational, digital technology, course enrolment or referral to specialist services support to enable their successful study completion.
- The digital literacy capability of people aged 50+ can vary immensely, so it is essential not to assume what someone can or cannot do. Digital supports need to be tailored to the individual’s capability and determine whether support to access technological devices is required.
- Most people aged 50+ have not had to apply for jobs for a long time. To land a job interview, individual job application support in understanding the job market, preparing a resume and cover letter, and understanding how to apply for online jobs is crucial. Practising job interviews and continuing to provide support in the first few months into getting a new job is equally important to finding and keeping sustainable and appropriately remunerated work.
For more information, read our Guide for Supporting Job Seekers Aged 50+ (799 KB ) as well as our Project Evaluation Report, October 2021 (1.48 MB) on our previous mature age employment support program Reach, Train and Employ developed by the Workforce Innovation & Development Institute.
Contact us
For more information, contact Wennie van Riet – Team Leader Social and Economic Participation, via phone 03 9655 2122 or email wvan_riet@cotavic.org.au