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Mature approach to retirement
Retirement doesn’t always have to signal the end of professional life and recent research has indicated many workers are redefining it as a way to switch gears on the career front as opposed to grinding to a halt.
A survey conducted by HSBC on the future of ageing revealed more than 60 per cent of people wanted to work in some way after they “retired” and that many were hoping to work part-time but found most employers were less accommodating to part time or more ‘mature’ workers.
One north-east company with an encouraging attitude towards a more mature generation of workers is Hydro Group, a subsea technology company. As well as operating a highly-effective graduate and apprentice scheme, they also have in place flexible working solutions to accommodate a team which includes five workers over the age of 60, two of whom are older than 65.
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Jim MacDonald, who retired last year at 60 years old, is one of the five and has been a worthy addition to the technical team at Hydro Group.
Jim, who had previously worked at FirstGroup for over 30 years, firstly as a driver, then as an administrator and digital marketing designer, applied for the technician position at Hydro Group not long after his retirement and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome having had no previous technician experience.
He said: ”I never really expected to get another job at my age so the job offer was a surprise. I wanted to try something new and challenging but wanted it to be less demanding of me in regards to working shifts. Once I had been offered the position, I came in and we worked out hours which would suit me. In the past, I worked varying shifts which didn’t always allow extra time to do other things.
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“I had never done technical work of this kind before but I received full on-the-job training and being part of a close team helped me learn quicker. I can’t stress enough what a great team and atmosphere there is here and am hoping to carry on working after I hit 65.”
Jim, who has worked at the Hydro Group headquarters in Aberdeen for almost a year now, is also a published children’s book illustrator and says the consistent working hours allow him to enjoy his life-time hobby. He has even been asked to produce a large-scale painting for Hydro Group’s new premises opening later this year at Aberdeen Science and Energy Park at Bridge of Don.
Irene Buxton, human resources director at Hydro Group, said: “Jim has been a great asset to our team. At Hydro Group we feel that it’s important to provide flexibility and adapt to our employees’ needs. I think that once people have reached a certain stage in their lives they don’t always want to be made to work, but they also don’t want to be made to retire. Older workers offer a wide range of skills attained from previous jobs and through various life experiences that positively enhances our working culture.”
Another study from investment firm Charles Shwab found that 71 percent of 44 to 62-year-olds wanted to work in retirement. HSBC further found that conceptions of retirement had changed, with people seeing it as an instigator for change as opposed to rest. Working after retirement allows people to take on new challenges they hadn’t previously and with the UK at the height of recession it is not a bad time to take on extra work and look to the future.
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Press & Journal
March 2009
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