When he turned 50, Diego Sastre faced a reality that he did not expect: “Many people my age were beginning to have problems entering the labor market, after having been left out for various reasons”, explained the CEO of the technology company Pyxis. So, he decided to work to solve a problem that, after researching the labor market, he understood involved a large group of people.
The average age of the company’s employees was around 30 years and there was no room for +50. “We were wasting the contribution of an entire generationTailor said. And it wasn’t just a generation, because the silver generation is the fastest growing in the country, in the region and in the world, according to the coordinator of Pensar En Grande (Endeavor project) Sofía Scarone. “Hiring older people means understanding the current market situation”, he pointed out in an interview with Coffee & Business.
But beyond the benefits of hiring +50 —including having a diverse workforce with employees who have work experience—, Companies still need to commit to this age group on a massive scale.
To encourage the development of this labor segment there are some companies working to convert the silver ones —who want to stay active, according to Scarone—, in the talent that the Uruguayan market is looking for. “We have to make it more dynamic both in supply and in demand,” said Sebastián Peaguda, general manager of AFAP SURA, one of the companies that decided to take action on the matter.
Examples in the Uruguayan market
AFAP SURA opted to train the elderly with the skills that are demanded in the labor market so that companies perceive their value.
Peaguda said that this year they established the internships +50. Are six months of work in the company with the aim that they can execute the work but also can access specialized workshops on teaching how to re-enter the labor market given that, logically, AFAP SURA cannot provide an employment solution to the entire senior population.
For his part, Sastre said that in his company are conducting a training program —completely free since the company receives support from Inefop, if they commit to hiring employees—which is now in its third edition. The goal is to upgrade those people who are close to the technology, so that they have the opportunity to at least enter the Pyxis employee roster.
They started with a first version that trained people in software quality testing, according to Sastre: “A very necessary tool for which people with a lot of methodology are needed”. They continued to focus on another profile, and did a workshop specialized in e-commerce functional analysts. And now —for the next edition, which will be next year— They decided to train the silvers in the development of programming.
35 people participated in the training program, and 10 are working on Pyxis. “It’s been incredibly easy for us to bring the Silvers into the business,” said the CEO. “Over there they had some difficulty in aspects in which the young people contributed complementary, but we were amazed at how easy it was to integrate them and how productive they quickly became“, he added.
For the next course, Pyxis plans to incorporate 12 people. Of the rest of the participants, there are only two who work in technology companies, and the rest did not manage to enter the labor market. “The difficulty is that there is no awareness to hire these profiles”Sastre explained and added that for the initiative to have a really good impact at a social level, the entire industry needs to look towards this age group.
The two companies mentioned above bet on work in the business ecosystem to try to position the issue as one that benefits both parties: employees and employers.
get more examples
Pyxis is planning a new dimension to the program, which is to work with potential employers in the industry to show them that they are wasting the workforce that is in silver. “We want more people to hire these profiles”said the CEO.
For its part, AFAP SURA is committed to working with some companies to show them that there is value for them not only in finding personnel who provide good characteristics, but also in diversity that is sought in the labor market.
