CARLA WILSON
Times Colonist
Phillippa Turney was in her mid-50s when she started looking for a job.
After living in Europe for 25 years, Turney had returned to Canada and retrained as a legal administrative assistant. The right job didn’t appear, so she turned to career counsellor Marilyn Henigman, who teaches a course at Camosun College focusing on job hunters 45 years and older.
Networking was a key component — not just in finding a job, but landing the perfect one.
Turney’s networking paid off. A soprano in her choir told her about an opening at the Sisters of St. Ann’s provincial office. That tip led to Turney’s “dream job.”
Nearly four years later, Turney, 60, has no plans to retire, enjoying her days working as a multi-tasking secretary. The former teacher works with like-minded people and is able to use the French she learned at the University of Toronto years ago.
“I’ve become involved in areas I never expected,” Turney said. “No day is the same.” She is honing communication skills in newsletters and had a hand in redesigning her employer’s website.
Henigman, who heads SearchWise career counselling, is leading a two-session course running today and April 27 at Camosun’s Lansdowne campus.
It is aimed at people frustrated with their job search, and includes networking and interviewing and how to write resumés and cover letters.
Henigman, who has been teaching job skills to the 45-plus set for about a decade, said many people in the demographic feel doors are closed as they mature. She said her workshops help people “strategize for job hunting success.’ ”
Mature Canadians are increasingly remaining in the workforce for a variety of reasons, such as the need for income or simply a change of gears.
A 2010 Statistics Canada report said Canada saw a marked trend toward early retirement, prompted by high public-sector deficits and downsizing among private-sector organizations. However, since the mid-1990s, the tide turned. An employed 50-year-old worker is expected to work another 16 years, according to the report. That was up from 12.5 years in the mid-1990s. Greater Victoria’s annual average number of employed workers last year was 186,100. Of those, 37,500 were 55-plus. The 65-plus category had 7,600, said Statistics Canada.
Victoria’s annual average in 2012 for those looking for jobs totalled 10,700, including 1,500 who who were 55 or older. Nationally, 3.26 million people 55 years and older were on the job last year. Another 204,700 in the age group were job-hunting.
Victoria has a healthy group of baby boomers, eager to work, highly motivated, with lots of energy, connections and skills, Henigman said. “They are a very stable group of workers,” she said, adding a strong work ethic is typical, along with a broad range of experience.
“Some of them have been retired and are looking around for something to do,” said Henigman. Many want to give back to the community and seek work at non-profit organizations. A tough economy is forcing others to seek extra income.
Not everyone wants to continue in the same kind of job as they held previously. A former high-powered executive may want a change of pace and be quite happy to take work with less pressure, she said.
Henigman said many people over 45 find themselves doing a job search for the first time after being with one employer for their previous working life. Her course helps people identify skills and learn how to market themselves. This means participating in social media and networking as Turney did.
