Asda Looks to Recruit Older Workers
WEST YORKSHIRE, U.K. - Asda is launching a recruitment campaign to increase the proportion of its over-50 employees from about 16 percent to one-in-five, The Financial Times reports.
The Wal-Mart-owned retailer's latest effort is part of its plan to create 10,000 new jobs this year.
Recruitment teams will be going out to target older people with advertising flyers, and posters and shelf labels will appear in stores.
Asda said workers over 50 were often just as capable and enthusiastic as their younger colleagues.
"By overlooking the over 50s, it's not just the older members of society that are losing out, but businesses too," said David Smith, Asda's people director.
The group has also seen absenteeism drop to levels a third below its national average at stores with a high percentage of older staff.
The CBI estimates a third of the UK's over 50s are currently out of work, according to the Financial Times.
The Wal-Mart-owned retailer's latest effort is part of its plan to create 10,000 new jobs this year.
Recruitment teams will be going out to target older people with advertising flyers, and posters and shelf labels will appear in stores.
Asda said workers over 50 were often just as capable and enthusiastic as their younger colleagues.
"By overlooking the over 50s, it's not just the older members of society that are losing out, but businesses too," said David Smith, Asda's people director.
The group has also seen absenteeism drop to levels a third below its national average at stores with a high percentage of older staff.
The CBI estimates a third of the UK's over 50s are currently out of work, according to the Financial Times.