"South Gloucestershire Council was keen to support the community and share economic benefit with people who have been looking for work after being employed for a long period of time. The over-50 group was interesting; these people possessed more skills and life experience than their younger counterparts but had little experience of CV writing or performing at job interviews. The idea for the workshop was really to break down those barriers and enable over-50s to continue working.
Locally based Red Door’s multi-decade blue-chip experience meant the council was confident with entrusting Red Door to deliver a series of @50s careers workshops across the council area. Red Door grasped the concept of priority neighbourhoods by investing more effort in recruiting candidates from these areas. This was also reflected in their marketing, which through no support from the council (political or otherwise), involved local press coverage – a credit to their initiative.
This innovative programme, unique to South Gloucestershire we believe, has grown from strength to strength. The effect and impact of the workshops is reflected in community demand for regular new dates. So long as there is demand, and with the target market increasing due to changing workplace dynamics, the @50’s careers workshops provide a valuable service to the community. Ultimately, success is based on the numbers of people who may secure interviews, jobs or just generate more motivation so as to not give up hope. The latter is sometimes more valuable than the former."
