A New Year Means New Employment Opportunities for Many Older Adults
The New Year often symbolizes a fresh start, making it a popular time for people of all ages to reflect on their goals and consider new opportunities in the year ahead. For many older Marylanders, the new year came with the resolution to find a new job. Motivated by financial need, the desire for new challenges, or to connect with their community, more older adults are entering the Maryland workforce each year. To capitalize on the tremendous opportunity they bring to local businesses, it's important to recognize their value and support workforce development programs for older workers.
Herbertia Gilmore credits workforce development training with helping her know her own worth as she prepared to enter the workforce again. She advises older adults who are thinking of making a career change to ask themselves, “What do you want now that you didn’t want then, and how do you think you can go about getting it?"
Age-Related Bias and the Role of Workforce Development Programs for Older Adults
The benefits of hiring older workers are well documented. Their expertise and work ethic has been shown to improve productivity and increase financial returns for businesses with multigenerational hiring practices. But age-related bias continues to be a persistent barrier for those who want to shift careers or re-enter the workplace later in life. A recent report from MYPerfectResume indicates an overwhelming majority of workers over 40 believe that there is age-related bias in the workplace, with 92% of respondents feeling pressure to conceal their age or downplay their experience to avoid negative perceptions.
To combat these misperceptions, workforce development programs for older adults play a vital role in creating inclusive, diverse, and dynamic workplaces. Through training and awareness, these programs support economic growth, enhance individual well-being, and ensure the valuable contributions of older workers are recognized and utilized effectively.
“We need these programs to burst those stereotypes and really show that the 50 and better are such a capable age group,” explains Jodie Rasche, Director of Employment Programs at the Jewish Council for Aging (JCA). “Our state, our counties, our jurisdictions need to recognize the significance of what older workers bring to the workforce.”
Rasche explains that older job seekers often don’t know their own worth and need to “think big” about what they want from employment. Through job search training, mentorship, and career expos, JCA empowers older workers to help define their value and connect them with age-friendly employers in their communities.
Herbertia Gilmore credits JCA with helping her recognize that she was standing in her own way as she planned her reentry into the workforce. When asked about age-related bias, she confessed, “Yes, it’s pervasive. It's an issue. But it's not just by the employers. It’s also by the job seekers.” With the help of a JCA mentor, Gilmore was able to break down her own internal biases and better assess her value to potential employers. Today, she works as a Title IX Training Manager for a prominent HBCU, with big plans to continue to advance her career in the years ahead.
The Maryland Workforce and the Need for Older Workers
Maryland added more than 7,000 new jobs in November alone, outpacing the nation’s average employment growth. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, strong growth in health care, social assistance, the public sector, and professional, scientific, and technical services led the way in 2024.
With older adults becoming a growing percentage of the workforce, we must recognize how much we need their expertise to remain competitive as we look to fill workforce gaps and labor shortages. Maryland’s multisector plan for aging, Longevity Ready Maryland (LRM), aims to achieve that goal.
With specific objectives and strategies to bolster age inclusive-employment, LRM will
- Track the impact of older employees on the Maryland workforce
- Develop protocols for making Maryland an age-friendly employment state
- Increase collaboration between Area Agencies on Aging and American Job Centers
- Advance recruitment and retention programs and policies
- Create and promote career pathways that are inclusive of older adults
On average, it takes job seekers over 55 more than three months longer to find a job than their younger counterparts. This often leads to them settling for salaries and positions that don’t commensurate with their experience – or giving up on working altogether. Given that the 55+ age group represents one in four Maryland workers, this is an unacceptable barrier to the state’s overall economic stability. As LRM implementation begins, MDOA look forwards to working with our state and local partners to improve access to quality employment for all Marylanders who wish to work later in life, promoting financial security and contributing to the Maryland economy throughout the lifespan.
JCA provides job search training for and career expos for job seekers age 50+ in Montgomery and Howard Counties. For more information on JCA’s employment services, visit accessjca.org/50-plus-employment.
