When looking for new employees, many hiring departments focus their attention on new graduate hires who took the traditional, straight-from-school route to university. However, they could be missing a trick by not casting the net further to consider students and graduates who came to higher education a little later in life.
Hiring from this talent pool of workers looking for a second career can be beneficial for employers, and not simply because these applicants tend to have more experience. Older candidates tend to be more grounded, self-aware and already have a work ethic. It’s important to remember that, whether mature students are gaining new qualifications or changing careers, they will definitely have transferable skills that they will likely have identified before making the decision to retrain.
With many universities offering distance learning, or part-time degrees (some of which can be attended after work hours), more and more people are finding meaningful ways to alter their career path. This means that hiring departments could be missing out on diverse, experienced candidates by not attending these universities’ career fairs, or utilising tools such as OpportunityHub from The Open University (OU), which connects prospective employers with “learn-and-earn” students, graduates and alumni across the country.
A 2017 study found that one in six people aged between 35 and 54 were unhappy at work, with 35 described as being “the age you start to hate your job”. It’s not surprising, then, that many people in this group turn to different careers. Research suggests it is often inspired by a desire to do more meaningful work. For example, Olympic gold-medal winner Bradley Wiggins is considering studying social care with the OU.
While some may worry about what retraining looks like on their CVs, it actually has the potential to signal to employers that they are particularly dedicated workers. As Emma Laws, senior employer engagement manager, Careers and Employability Services at the OU, says: “At the OU we have many students who are looking to change career, and study for a qualification to help them make the move. Our own research has found that employers value people who study like this. They have often had to make sacrifices to get their qualification, and are committed and passionate employees.”
Gillian Ashworth, the associate director for professional and practice development at Northampton general hospital, says that “second-career workers are usually hardworking, conscientious, bring invaluable life experiences to their role and are not afraid to ask for help. They rarely step off a course and they very often stay at the hospital post-qualification, as they are established residents of the town. The OU graduates we have on staff are adaptable, resilient, self-starters and are excellent adult nurses.”
And, it makes sense for employers to hold on to good staff. An Oxford Economics study found that it costs approximately £30k to replace an employee, when you factor in the cost of training and the transition. Employers often report that second-career workers are more loyal, because they have worked hard to retrain, and have the experience of feeling reinvigorated by the work that they now do.
Of course, for potential employees, changing jobs isn’t without risk. Making the decision to retrain requires careful consideration of the cost of new qualifications (where necessary), as well as budgeting for a reduction in pay. Being intentional about how you communicate prospective roles to candidates helps to allay those fears – if they know that they will be supported as they transition careers, they will be more at ease.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported in April 2019 that while “job stayers” experienced the greatest level of financial stability, those who changed their job experienced higher pay growth. The same report also noted that those working in the public sector (about 28% of the workforce) were much more likely to stay in their jobs than those working in the private sector, which reinforces the idea that those training for second careers with the NHS, for example, tend to stay in those roles over time.
Empower your business. It’s easy and free to tap into the diverse talents of OU students and alumni through the OU’s OpportunityHub
