Nearly half of Baby Boomers believe their age is the biggest barrier to job opportunities, a new report has found.
A quarter of Australians view age as the biggest barrier to opportunities, while 24 per cent feel most held back by their lack of financial resources, LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2020 revealed.
The survey discovered that under one in two (46 per cent) Aussie Baby Boomers, or those born from 1946 to 1964, believe their age is the main hurdle standing in their way of finding employment. Younger generations are less likely to feel inhibited by how old they are, with only 31 per cent of Gen X, 11 per cent of Millennials and 22 per cent of Gen Z sharing the sentiment.
“While younger generations feel their age is a reflection of their lack of experience, more mature generations are struggling to adapt their skills for the changing workforce,” said Matt Tindale, country manager for LinkedIn in Australia and New Zealand.
“Professionals are working well beyond their retirement years and we now have four generations working together for the very first time.
“Embracing Australia’s multigenerational workforce and leveraging this diversity of talent will be imperative in order for businesses to remain successful.”
Australians also have low confidence about accessing job opportunities, ranking 17 out of 22 countries.
More than 30,000 people around the world, including 1,025 Australians, were polled for the index.
LinkedIn’s index came months after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s call for older workers to undergo more training or upskilling to allow for their continued participation in the workforce.
“This year, as the economic landscape and job market continues to evolve, it will be important that Australians adopt a growth mindset and embrace lifelong learning to ensure they are best placed to seek the opportunities they want,” Tindale said.
This article originally appeared on Over60.