Antal is a leader in the recruitment of specialists and managers as well as HR consulting. It has been operating in Poland since 1996. Offices in Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków, Poznań and Gdańsk carry out projects in Poland and abroad, for global and local enterprises from all sectors of the economy. In addition to recruitment, Antal specialists advise companies on employee evaluation and development, employer branding and market analyses.

Your age is your strength! Under this slogan, Antal Poland launched the Antal 50+ Academy development program in June 2022. The program consists in employing and preparing people over 50 to work as an IT Recruiter.

The idea for the Antal 50+ Academy appeared 9 years ago. Even then, they predicted the so-called “inverted age pyramid” in the labour market and the related shortage of young workers and job candidates. The concept of the 50+ Academy fits in with the ANTAL mission, which is to get to know people by competences and not by labels (such as age, gender or race).

The 50+ Academy development project started in June 2021. The project was open to people aged 50+ who know at least an intermediate level of English and are able to navigate relatively efficiently in social media and work with a computer.

There were approximately 50-60 submissions for the project. From this, 10 people were selected. Ultimately, 5 people were qualified for the project. The first stage of the project was a series of training sessions. After the training, the candidates/participants started their first week of independent work.

The next stage was the individual work of participants for recruiters aged 50+ with mentors. At this stage, project participants aged 50+ recruited people to work in specific positions. People recommended by them for employment were verified by Mentors. Project participants aged 50+ receive a remuneration for each candidate selected by the Mentor for the recruitment process. Mentors will support and accompany the participants for as long as necessary. It depends on the commitment of the participants and their decision as to whether they want to pursue a career at ANTAL. There are 3 options:

• continue to participate in the program and use a mentor while working as a recruiter
• become a full-time employee and join the ANTAL,
• become a freelancer and work with ANTAL as an external person,
• terminate the project

The project involves the HR department, trainers, mentors, the Marketing and PR Department.

TIPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

As for the guidelines for other organisations that would like to implement similar projects, attention was paid to the need to explain to the candidates in detail what the idea and assumptions of the project are about. You should also allow each other to make mistakes and give yourself time to see the results. Older employees would like to achieve the effect very quickly, but there are so many elements that have to be learned that it takes a lot of time for them to start working as recruiters. The project implemented by ANTAL can be an excellent example of activities that are to bring benefits to both the organisation (employment of experienced employees or establishing permanent cooperation with them), older employees (overcoming barriers, taking up gainful employment) and the entire labour market (counteracting unemployment among the elderly). Activities designed in this way can be implemented in companies, regardless of the industry in which they operate. A project based on such assumptions can also be implemented in public administration or non-profit organisations. The nature of the project is universal.

We have to consider:

• How to use the potential of experienced employees aged 50+?
• What are the challenges faced by employers employing employees aged 50+?
• How to help people aged 50+ to believe in their abilities and competences?
• How to implement projects that benefit all participants of the labour market?

How to build an organisation on the experience of older employees and their different perspective on reality?

age management, diversity management, sustainable development, employee market, strategic thinking about human resources, mentoring and training, experienced employers