Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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utILIty WEEK | 23rd - 29th January 2015 | 25 Operations & Assets mance management in the ordinary way and employers need not fear unwarranted liability. It is a common concern that employ- ees working on beyond normal retirement will become less productive and a burden. Yet nothing in the age discrimination laws requires employers to tolerate lower stand- ards of performance and the industry will need to view the abolition of mandatory retirement ages as an opportunity rather than a threat if it is to cope with the antici- pated loss of experience and skills in the next decade. There is, however, a need to review occu- pational health support and to carry out suit- able health and safety risk assessments in the context of an ageing workforce. Utility companies will need to compete for ageing workers in order to deal with skills shortages. This will require a change in recruitment practices, and packages will need to be devised that are attractive to older workers both in terms of benefits and work- life balance. Traditional methods of recruitment may have to be rethought. Internal labour mar- kets tend to favour younger workers, and payment systems that reward employees by reference to length of service and depth of expertise can operate against older workers – so these methods of recruiting and reward- ing will need to be revised. Sex discrimination has a longer legislative history than age discrimination and there is a long-standing view, based on research, that in certain environments women need to be head and shoulders above male counter- parts to succeed. If this is replicated in rela- tion to older workers it could have serious implications for skills shortages. Formal pol- icies of equal opportunity based on age and attention to retention and recruitment in this sector of the workforce become critical. Man- aging talent and adapting jobs to be suitable for a wider age range are key objectives going forward, as talk of 75 as the new 65 becomes widespread. There is a potential tension when pre- paring an age inclusive retention and recruitment plan when government ini- tiatives promote the employment of the unemployed youth in an economy, which remains uncertain whether or not the econ- omy has emerged from recession. Achieving the appropriate balance is going to require subtlety and creativity, but the competitive advantage which is the reward for getting this right is a prize worth winning. Michael Ryley and Noel Walsh are partners at Weightmans LLP Market view The young ones Richard Grice welcomes tax breaks for firms taking on young apprentices and calls for an assault on outdated assumptions. T he chancellor's pledge in the Autumn Statement to extend employer National Insurance exemptions to include apprentices under the age of 25 offers much-needed support to the utilities sector. Apprenticeships present a credible solution to the industry's skills shortages. Given their versatility and flexibility, they are also well suited to the multi- discipline nature of the industry. It is right, therefore, that the gov- ernment has taken the action it has. Employer National Insurance contributions are a tax on jobs. Key apprenticeship training providers, including Pera Training, and leading youth unemployment cam- paign Million Jobs have long been calling for employer National Insurance contributions for young people to be scrapped. The chancellor's announcement shows he has taken these messages on board. More needs to be done, however, if the government is serious in its determination to tackle youth unemploy- ment, while ensuring core industries have access to a skilled labour market. For young people finishing school, their next steps will have a substantial bearing on the rest of their lives. Most remain wedded to the concept that university is the key to a successful and prosperous future, unaware of other avenues open to them. While for many university remains a suitable option, this is not the case for all. Prospects for today's young graduates are dimin- ishing. Too many graduates are ill-equipped with the skills necessary to meaningfully participate in the work- force. A study published in 2014 found that since 2005, apprentices under the age of 25 have broadly enjoyed more favourable levels of employment than their gradu- ate counterparts. Well over one-third of all graduates have lifetime earnings below those of the average higher apprentice, while nearly half (46 per cent) of those from post-1992 universities earn less than higher apprentices. Despite this, apprenticeships are struggling to acquire the social status they deserve. School-leavers are more than twice as likely to associate university, rather than apprenticeships, with providing a good long-term earn- ing potential and job prospects. Fewer than one in six say their parents and friends recommend they apply for an apprenticeship over university. Addressing these misconceptions is vital if policy- makers are serious in their determination to tackle the country's youth unemployment epidemic. Addressing these issues are also vital if the utilities sector is to pull back from the skills precipice and recruit the next gen- eration of industry experts. Richard Grice, chief executive, Pera Training