Man who declared ageism was ‘alive and well’ now got two job offers

Cambridge University. Pic: Archant library

This newspaper published a story yesterday about Stephen Davies, from Swaffham, who stated he felt his age was hampering him getting a job, particularly with recruitment agencies. But today two potential job offers came in - one from a renewable electrical contractor based in Norwich and another from Cambridge University.

The story also attracted huge amount of debate and was even included in a worldwide podcast. Mr Davies, married with a teenage son, said: "I've felt so enthused by all the positive comments compared to the doom and gloom I was feeling. I didn't do this to get a job, but to highlight the issue and it does seem to have touched a nerve. Cambridge University got in touch and has asked me about a three month project I might be interested in doing for them and I've had a lot of conversations on LinkedIn as a result of the story. It has shown me there are alternatives."

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Sam Matthews, Assembly House. Pic: Archant

One job came in from AM Electrics (Renewables) based in Thorpe Road. Managing director Luke Bradford emailed this newspaper stating: "Further to reading your article I would be extremely keen to have a discussion about employment with Mr Davies. We are a medium-sized electrical contractor which is rapidly expanding and we are currently relocating to larger premises in Wymondham."

A career consultant also offered Mr Davies some free career guidance. Trevor Turk, based in Norwich, said: "As a 60-something who has experienced first-hand the challenges of securing work in later life I have huge sympathy for all mature job-seekers. Employers could perhaps do more to make suitable job roles more appealing to older workers."

Sam Matthews, general manager at the Assembly House in Norwich, also contacted this newspaper, saying: "We have employed two staff over 60 in the last six months or so and at least three over 50 in the last year."

And further afield, the story was picked up by Dave Watts from Warwickshire, who runs The Redundancy Podcast which aims to help older workers get back into employment. Mr Watts, who himself has been made redundant six times, did a podcast about Mr Davies to his listeners in South America and the Far East. He said: "In 2017 I got made redundant aged 63 and I thought it was going to be more challenging. I found the interviews I got when I was younger I wasn't getting. But it's a world-wide problem."