PLANS to boost the number of over 50s at work in the UK by one million have been backed by business leaders.

Andy Briggs, the Government’s business champion for older workers today announced a target of increasing the number of older workers aged between 50 and 69 in the UK by one million over the next five years.

The scheme aims to call on all UK employers to remove age bias in retention, progression and recruitment.

The employment rate for people aged between 50 and 69 is 59 per cent and the Business Champion for Older Workers says it must increase to 66 per cent by 2022 in the UK is to start addressing its skills gap.

By 2022, 14.5 million more jobs will be created but only seven million younger workers will enter the workforce.

Andy Caton, Bradford Chamber president, welcomed the announcement, adding older employees “have plenty to offer”.

He said: “Most firms that we deal with would acknowledge that, with age comes experience, knowledge, acumen and deeper understanding and managers are loathe to let that go.

“It has to be balanced with new blood that can bring in new ideas, of course, but we don’t see a problem with the objectives set out here.”

Mr Caton added: “It’s also a bit of a generalisation but many businesses also question the often different work ethic that some younger people have to older ones, though we should be careful not to damn all young people in this way.

“So, yes, older staff have plenty to offer and can bring a lot to the table.”

Mr Briggs, who is also chairman of the Business in the Community Age at Work Leadership Team, said: “One million more older people in work by 2022 is an ambitious, yet necessary target.

“There are 15 million people of this age group in the labour market, yet only nine million are in work.

"We want to get this to ten million by 2022.

“The target is achievable if employers commit to taking an honest and sustained approach to understanding age bias in their organisations.

“Older people can be written off by their employers, but we are asking employers to consider carefully the overwhelming benefits of having a diverse and representative workforce, and then act on it.”

By 2020, people aged over 50 will make up almost one third of the working age population and almost half of the adult population.

The UK employment rate at age 50 is 83 per cent, reducing to 64 per cent at age 60.

A total of 47.2 per cent of people aged 50 and over and unemployed have been out of work for 12 months or more, compared to 34.3 per cent of all UK adults.

Rachael Saunders, Business in the Community’s Age at Work director, said: “The over 50s are a key part of the UK workforce and employers need to open their eyes to this talent pool.

“We urge employers to get behind this target and work with us to prevent people from leaving work unnecessarily early and to benefit from an age diverse workforce.”