Never too old: Care provider launches new campaign to recruit over 55’s into work

Published: 29/05/2024

Recruitment campaign for over 55 year olds!

May 2024

Never too old: Care provider launches new campaign to recruit over 55s into work

One of our local area’s most popular homecare organisations has launched a new recruitment campaign – for over 55-year-olds!

Bluebird Care Sevenoaks believes you are never too old to work and say there are a growing number of people who are approaching retirement, or who’ve just retired, that are eager to take up a new challenge.

Charotte Gore, Registered Care Manager at Bluebird Care Sevenoaks, said:

“Just as someone reaches 55, 60 or even 65 years old, there are huge expectations on them to pick up their final wage slip and spend the next 20-30 years in retirement.

This isn’t and shouldn’t be the case. Here at Bluebird Care we appreciate the value that mature carers can bring to Bluebird Care, and the benefit and experience they can bring to the care industry as a whole.”

Older people in England are living longer than ever before, a recent report from Public Health England says.

Figures show that for those aged 65, men can expect to live for another 19 years and women a further 21 years.

Typical of a new generation of more mature care workers is Olive Grant, who lives in Sevenoaks. Olive, who will be 65 years old this year, has been a care worker for Bluebird Care for 3 years - and loves it. She said:

“Care work is so satisfying, and you build up a great rapport with your customers. The one thing that surprised me is just how much fun you can have; we have such a giggle with some of our ladies.

You get home at the end of the day and you’re really happy with what you’ve done and you can’t say that in every job can you? It’s also nice working for a company that appreciates their staff, that makes a huge difference.”

Since the government abolished the default retirement age in October 2011, the number of over 65-year-olds in employment has soared past the 1 million mark from 650,000.

Bluebird Care’s new recruitment campaign for the older 55’s is one of the first of its kind in the UK care industry.

Charotte added:

“Retirement doesn’t have to be dull and dissatisfying; especially when it can be enlivening, exciting and extremely rewarding by taking up a second career.

Bluebird Care provides excellent opportunities for older people to become carers. We offer very good rates of pay and pay all travel time too.”

Bluebird Care’s work involves providing care visits, normally on a daily basis for relatively short periods to help with the everyday tasks of life. However the service does not stop there because longer duration visits are available as well, including overnight and live-in care.

Bluebird Care is a national provider of care in the home, specialising in working with customers who live with dementia, physical disabilities and many other acute and chronic conditions. Bluebird Care work alongside their customers’ families, social services and the NHS to ensure each person receives the care they need.

Want to find out more about working for Bluebird Care? For more information call 01732 471 541, email sevenoaks@bluebirdcare.co.uk or visit their website at www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/sevenoaks