"Require people under 65 years old" and "Recruit financial managers around 55 years old" ... On China Senior Talent Online, the recruitment age of each position is relaxed to a space suitable for the elderly.
With the frequent hot search of related topics such as the employment of the elderly, the job-seeking needs of younger elderly groups are gradually being seen by the outside world.
On February 22, the reporter found that most recruitment platforms have not yet opened up a special area for the elderly, and the elderly still use offline and friend introduction as the main channel in the job search process.
In August last year, China Senior Talent Network for the recruitment of the elderly was officially launched. On this platform, beijing business today reporter started a dialogue with several old people who are looking for jobs. These elderly people are generally between the ages of 55 and 65, and many of them are undergraduate or even graduate students. However, these highly educated elderly people have repeatedly hit a wall in the process of job hunting, and even have no business interest.
Some elderly people said that career choices are very limited, and they can only choose basic positions such as cleaning and security. So what can the elderly do when they are re-employed outside their basic posts?
Young people have hit a wall when looking for a job online.
According to the job information, basic positions such as security guard, cleaning, parking lot manager, and caretakers frequently appear on China Senior Talents Online.
Image source: Screenshot of China Senior Talent Network
Uncle Wang submitted his resume at the beginning of the website. 58-year-old, graduated from Tsinghua University, and worked as a project manager in a foreign-funded enterprise before retirement. "My family is more supportive of my job search, and I am in good health and have the energy to work five days a week." Uncle Wang said that he is looking forward to finding a job as a management post, a consultant post and a training tutor post. There is no requirement for the industry and company size, and the salary is expected to be more than 5,000 yuan.
Despite the double blessing of high education and working experience in foreign companies, Uncle Wang's "road to re-employment" is not smooth. "There are fewer recruitment companies on the website, and there are fewer companies that do professional counterparts." Uncle Wang told reporters that since I applied for a job and submitted my resume on the website last August, almost no company has contacted me in the past six months.
Aunt Zhu, 57, with a bachelor's degree, is also looking for a job. Unlike Uncle Wang, she prefers to choose simple, easy and low-intensity jobs. "Waiter, matchmaker, I am willing to try these positions." Aunt Zhu said. But like Uncle Wang, Aunt Zhu failed to find a job successfully.
There are few enterprises recruiting the elderly and few suitable jobs, which is also one of the difficulties encountered by the elderly represented by Aunt Zhu and Uncle Wang in job hunting.
The number of "welcome retirees" has increased by 33%
In the survey, the reporter also found that although the job search was blocked, most elderly people did not show their eagerness. Different from young people's job-hunting goals, some old people's original intention of job-hunting is to enrich their lives and realize the complete transition from work to retirement. As representatives, Uncle Wang and Aunt Zhu have made plans for their next retirement. "Don't rush to find a job. If you can't find a job, drink tea at home, exercise, and travel when you have time. " Uncle Wang said.
Gong Shan, an analyst directly employed by boss, pointed out that retirees often have three needs when they are employed. "Continue to raise children's economic needs, continue to play the value needs of vocational skills and the spiritual needs of continuing to pursue career development."
Boss direct employment data shows that in 2022, the number of active job seekers over the age of 55 on the platform increased by 27% year-on-year. "Retirees' own willingness to work is very strong, and most users return to the job market after retirement for one or two years." Gong Shan said. In addition, in 2022, the position of "welcome retirees" in the job description of the platform also increased by 33% year-on-year.
In fact, promoting the social participation of the elderly, encouraging the elderly to continue to play their role and achieving a productive life have become one of the focuses of China's aging work in the new era.
The Opinions on Strengthening Aging Work in the New Era issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council clearly put forward that flexible employment modes suitable for the elderly should be explored in schools, hospitals, community domestic service, public service management and other industries. Encourage all localities to establish an information base for elderly talents, and provide employment introduction, vocational skills training and innovation and entrepreneurship guidance services for the elderly who are willing to work.
What are the possibilities of silver-haired employment?
Under the policy, it is particularly important to build a bridge between the elderly in need and the matching workplace. According to the data of the seventh national census, among the population aged 60 and above in China, there are 36.69 million people with high school education or above, an increase of 20.85 million over 20 10; The population with high school education or above accounts for 13.90%. With the higher education level of the elderly, more and more jobs can be set foot in.
However, judging from the current job hunting situation of the elderly, many elderly people still understand their work mainly through offline channels such as friends' introduction, and their work is also the basic work content such as cleaning and doorman. Online, except for China Senior Talent Network, most mainstream recruitment platforms have not set up a service area for the elderly, but some posts are marked with the words "Recruit retirees".
Image source: screenshot of recruitment website
The reporter searched for "retirement" and "re-employment" on a recruitment platform. In addition to basic positions, there are also positions such as school doctors, custodian teachers, nurses and even elderly anchors. Gong Shan said that from the perspective of post setting, the financial accounting, medical and health care, publishing and editing industries all welcome the elderly to join.
"The skills and rules required by these industries and positions have been very stable, and the only variable is job proficiency, so some recruiters are even willing to attract retired talents with higher salaries." Gong Shan said.
According to Lu Jiehua, a professor of sociology in Peking University, the employment of the elderly is diversified, and the elderly with professional skills usually have relatively high employment intentions, such as doctors and teachers. "It is very important to maintain the balance between supply and demand in the employment of the elderly and improve their social participation." Lu Jiehua said that besides paying attention to the balance between skills and jobs, we should also consider adapting the elderly to the changes in the digital age. "Improving the cultural level of the elderly in the digital age is also to enhance their employability. In addition, employers should provide more opportunities to match employment with supply and demand!