Despite the chronic shortage of labor and an aging population in Switzerland, few French-speaking companies are willing to recruit employees aged 60 or over, according to a study.
The consequence of this situation is that companies risk no longer finding enough employees in the coming years.
While 61% of companies surveyed by the Pro Senectute organisation say they are willing to hire people aged 55 to 59 without reservation or under certain conditions (33%), 22% do not want to recruit employees aged between 60 and 65 or only under certain conditions (48%).
After the age of 65, currently the official retirement age for men, 52% of the firms surveyed “totally reject this possibility” of hiring seniors, according to the survey conducted between March and May among of 433 companies. But eight out of ten companies are still ready to keep their employees beyond this age and 27% already do so.
87% of the bosses surveyed said they appreciated being able to retain the know-how of seniors within their company. The latter are no less productive, creative or flexible than their younger colleagues, they estimated.
“Two thirds (of the bosses surveyed) admit that they are not doing enough today to keep or attract seniors,” noted Constantino Serafini, director of the French-speaking program Avantage attached to Pro Senectute. But the managers “are aware in the same proportion that recruiting will be much more difficult in five years or that it will be necessary to rely more on seniors,” he explained.
“Companies (…) which do not anticipate, clearly risk lacking brains and hands,” warned Mr. Serafini.
In Switzerland, the number of unemployed remained stable in May at 2.3%, after a slight decline the previous month. For people aged 50 to 64, the unemployment rate is 2.1%.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats/awp
