Career Voyage Ltd

The sparkles on the river look just like diamonds, and it got me thinking about something close to my heart – the over-50s in the workplace. They are the DIAMONDS in your talent pool On this Ageism Awareness Day, let’s have a real conversation about the brilliance 50+ employees bring to the work party. Have you noticed the massive demographic shift happening in the UK and global workforce? It’s something I love to talk about (with plenty of stats if you’re keen!) – because the 50+ talent pool is growing fast and it’s packed with wisdom, clarity, and a ton of value and can help you bridge those talent and skills gaps. You might think that career paths slow down after 50, that’s far from true for a lot of us. Especially women – many of us are stepping back into our careers and just getting started again. And guess what? Companies that embrace intergenerational teams and age inclusion are outperforming the rest. Improved productivity, performance and profitability? It’s all higher when you’ve got a mix of ages, perspectives, and experiences working together. But let’s be real – not everyone over 50 wants to climb the career ladder. Some might want to downsize their role and some want to shift sideways into something fresh. The key? Flexibility. We’ve all got our own unique story, our own zig-zagging career path, and our own aspirations for a purposeful future. We’re not in it to job hop – we’re here to add value, stay a while, and bring all that crystallised wisdom to the table. And according to The Female Lead a loyal employee is worth 20 times more than a new employee. It’s time to get creative with resourcing. How about intergenerational job-sharing? Fractional interim assignments? Or even crafting roles that blend two people and AI? Phased retirement anyone or 3 day weeks, what about sharing your role to give you some more bandwidth and introduce a newbie into the business? Let’s start a real conversation about making the workplace more inclusive, diverse and innovative for the 50+ talent pool. #AgeismAwarenessDay #DiamondsInTheWorkplace #Over50Talent #IntergenerationalTeams #AgeInclusion #ZigZagCareer

Almost half of recruiters think 57 is too old for a job! I heard this on Times Radio early doors and I've been getting tagged and pinged all day about the article in The Times. As a Gen X'er (just), I want to highlight something crucial—job boxes. Once you hit 50+, you’ll find you don’t fit into a job box, you fit into 5, so the computer cannot match you to the job, you have too much experience. 50+ workers have so much value to add and you’re getting great value for money, this box ticking and the recruitment process needs to evolve and AI doesn’t cut it. Job search in 2024 is brutal, inhumane, endless and rude. It’s like very bad dating, and you end up being ignored and ghosted, this does not have a good impact on mental health. Surely we need more seasoned talent and experienced hiring managers who understand the value of more experienced workers. As a former head-hunter, I’m much less ageist looking down the decades from 55+ than I was looking up from 25+ And if you'd asked me at 40 what I'd be doing at 60, I probably would have said "retired" because that’s the narrative we’ve been told. But now that I’m almost here, I have huge energy, love what I do and feel like I’ve just got started again, career-wise. It’s also time to rethink career trajectories, especially for women. Many women's careers start to accelerate after 50, once caregiving responsibilities ease. We're living longer and working longer, and the demographics are shifting rapidly: By 2030, 50% of the workforce will be aged 50+, with the 60+ cohort up by 40%. Meanwhile, 7 million young people will enter the UK workforce, as 10-12 million exit, and there are 16% fewer 20-29-year-olds than 50-59-year-olds. Something needs to change. Apparently, there’s a talent and skill shortage in many industries, but it's like the Bermuda Triangle, a real mystery, where are the roles? what are they called? how can we find them? There's a huge amount of talent we need creative & innovative resourcing. Age is an asset and let's embrace the experience, energy, knowledge, and stability that older workers bring to the table. 50+ talent is less likely to job hop and be absent. And you’ll find assumptions about salary could be wrong too, you might assume that more experienced workers will be more expensive. I'm looking at roles paying parity with what I was earning in my 30s. And if you hire me for 3 days / week, that’s 3/5 cost. I run a job search community called Be Inspired Get Hired, so please DM me if you’d like to join and I run a DIAMOND programme for organisations to attract, onboard, engage, retain and retrain their precious, powerful resilient 50+ talent. I’m not interested in a mid-life MOT thanks, I’m not a second-hand motor and my big end hasn’t gone! There’s no such thing as a permanent job, we’re all interim managers now. #AgeDiversity #TalentShortage #ExperiencedTalent #WorkforceChange #Ageism #MentalHealth #JobSearch #AI #TheNext10Years

September brings unexpected shifts, signaling endings and new beginnings. As our children embrace independence, we may feel lost. For those at 50+, it's about facing the next phase of life—exciting yet scary. The DIAMOND Programme is tailored to support YOU recognise, know, feel, articulate and celebrate your inherent value, preciousness. power and potential. It's about knowing your worth and understanding the wealth of experience and crystalised wisdom you bring to the work party and being able to communicate it in a compelling way. 💎Drawing inspiration from the enduring qualities of diamonds—strength, brilliance, resilience, and wealth - as over 50s we know our greatness is cultivated over time and under pressure. We'll help you rediscover your strengths (an absolute game changer), shine brightly, gain clarity on your unique abilities and capabilities and recognise the richness of your professional journey. 💎We'll future proof your work / life /career voyage and make it sustainable, ensuring flexibility and wellbeing takes centre stage, and we'll support you along the way and help you navigate the route and reimagine your future 🔹D Discover Brilliant Brand You 🔹I Impact & Ikigai 🔹A Authenticity & Ageing Fabulously 🔹M Midlife Magnificence & Magic Mindset 🔹O Opportunity and Options Exploration (Flex) 🔹N Network & Narrative 🔹D Design & Deliver Join the DIAMOND Programme now and discover the brilliance and sparkle within you or your team. The programme can help onboard, retain, engage and retrain your team. There will be many team members who want to UPsize their career once more and can return to the office as their responsibility lessens. You'll gain clarity, confidence, power and recognise your resilience. Create a route map for your future. Embrace change with the DIAMOND Programme designed for 50+ professionals. Join us to rediscover your brilliance and navigate life's transitions with confidence. #ZigZagCareers #MidlifeMelange #Ageism #CareerReinvention #Resilience #FlexibleWorking #DiscoverBrandYou #50YearCareer #TheDiamondProgramme #CareerDevelopment

I'm thrilled to announce that I will be speaking at the upcoming Women in Pensions South West event on Thursday, 10th October from 5pm. During the event, I will be hosting the Discover Brand You workshop, focusing on ensuring long and sustainable careers for individuals and enhancing business value by engaging and retaining senior female talent. The event will take place at the stunning offices of Burges Salmon LLP at One Glass Wharf, Bristol. We will conclude the evening with networking drinks and nibbles starting at 6.30pm. Realy looking forward to it Susan Hoare Linette Newton Sharon Bebington 📧 To RSVP, please email Selina.yip@Aon.com. Looking forward to seeing you all there! #WomenInPensions #CareerDevelopment #SeniorFemaleTalent #NetworkingEvent #50YearCareer #DiscoverBrandYou #Retention

🌟 Thank You to All Teachers! 🌟 Firstly, a huge thank you to all teachers for their dedication and hard work over the past few weeks with A-Level and GCSE results in the UK. At Career Voyage, I help midlife professionals navigate a sustainable career and live and work happily ever after. This might mean a career change, a mindset shift, more flexibility, or a future plan of some sort. Recently, I have been working with several Senior Leadership Team teachers who are exploring what a more sustainable work and life balance might look like. Many want to avoid burnout and are seeking more flexibility. Great Head or Deputy Head Teachers make a significant impact in our schools, but their roles are becoming increasingly challenging, often leading them to consider new career paths. While there are well-known pathways into teaching for career changers, like Teach Now or Now Teach, what about the other way around? Teachers possess phenomenal transferable (I call them power) skills—leadership, communication, adaptability, and more—that are valuable in many industries. But how do they find these opportunities? Let me know your thoughts by voting in the poll and sharing your comments below! If you’re looking to add exceptional talent to your team, consider the unique skills teachers bring to the table. Let's connect! #ThankYouTeachers #CareerVoyage #MidlifeCareerChange #TeacherSkills #Leadership #WorkLifeBalance

Recent data proves many female leaders leave their corporate roles in their 50s. The gender pay gap is almost twice as high for women aged 50-59 than women in their 30s. Last week was A’Level results time for young people in the UK, does your organisation have courageous career conversations with parents to see if they want to step up, step down, or step sideways in their career?  Take part in the poll below and share your thoughts:

Last month, during my "Discover Brand You" talk, we delved into the pressing issue of the female talent drain, especially notable among women in their 30s and 50s. Many employees from a major financial services company were taken aback, realising their attrition figures mirrored this trend. We want to understand your organisation's approach to supporting female talent in their 50s. Please share your experience: #MidLifeCareerReview #Attrition #TalentRetention #FemaleRepresentation #CourageousCareerConversations

Feeling lost and all at sea after redundancy? – Do you have any ideas or tactics that might help when you’re in between assignments or roles, please put them in the comments. #careertransition #jobsearchstrategies #careerchange