Trafford Council becomes an officially age-friendly local authority employer

The authority has signed the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, a nationwide programme launched by the Centre for Ageing Better to improve the recruitment, retention and development of older workers.

Deputy Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Cllr Catherine Hynes, says:

“I’m delighted that we are stepping up to this challenge.

“By getting involved, we are demonstrating our support for employees of all ages in the workplace and committing to taking at least one action a year to improve the way we recruit, manage and support older workers.”

Over 100 employers have already signed the pledge, including household name brands, charities and public bodies. Trafford is one of first local authorities in the North West to do so.

Recognising the wealth of skill and experience that older workers can bring, Trafford Council has almost 100 staff members over the current state pension age of 66. The average age of employees is 47.

Of all starters in the last two financial years, the council recruited 35 who were aged between 60 and 81 at the time they joined.

One of the Council’s oldest employees is school crossing patrol Heather Morris who turns 85 in September. Heather has kept schoolchildren safe in Sale for 54 years and earned an MBE for her public service. Heather said:

“I love working for the Council. My supervisors have always trusted me to get on with my job, looking after the children, morning and afternoon. It’s been nice having a summer break but I can’t wait to get back to it.

“It’s great news that the Council has become an Age Friendly Employer. Older employees have so much to give, in our knowledge and experience. I have no plans to retire, I just want to keep going.”

Benefits of working for Trafford Council include health and wellbeing resources, flexible working, flexible retirement and apprenticeships available at all career stages.

Public health officer for ageing well, Paul Burton, and strategic HR lead for policy reward and intelligence, Kate Sturman, led the application process.

The Centre for Ageing Better supports the network of Age-friendly Employers by providing a full framework of actions to take alongside a range of learning resources and content to help employers make changes within their organisation.

Dr Carole Easton, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said:

“The labour market is changing and employers are facing huge challenges with skills and labour shortages and near-record vacancy rates. Workers in their 50s and 60s are key to filling these gaps - now, more than ever, the older workforce is the workforce.

“And yet older workers are continuing to leave the labour market in droves. We want to help businesses understand how they can be attractive employers to older workers and reap the benefits of a multigenerational workforce.”