In today’s Times the columnist and author Stefanie Marsh wades wholeheartedly into the sensitive and complex area of ageism and employment practices. Marsh, writer of I’m No Monster: The Horrifying True Story of Josef Fritzl and The Crimes of Joseph Fritzl: Uncovering the Truth, informs us that hoards of Generation Y employees have been “elevated to quite startling positions of responsibility on the basis of a breezy manner and zero merit”.
Experience is central to her argument. The TV detective Columbo is evidence, she writes, of how experience makes you better at crime-busting. She clings nostalgically to the 1970s and harks back to a time when it was “generally still recognised that anybody under 25 was a liability in the workplace”. She also describes how cringingly awful she was herself at that age and derides the new breed of workers she is outraged to see in today’s offices as “children”. She even uses the phrases “pubescent child” and “numbskull child” for arguable comic effect.
The fact is, according to Marsh, all our talented middle-aged employees have been replaced by the cheap and Twittering masses of first jobbers. She signs off by asking, instead of hiring these younger people: “Couldn’t we just hang on to our fortysomethings?”
Perhaps we should forgive Marsh because she’s been locked away for the past 10 months writing another Fritzl book and freely admits she has experienced little of what’s been going on lately. In truth, those 18- to 24-year-olds she so derides have been the hardest hit by the recession. Jobseeker’s Allowance claims in this demographic group have increased by 80 per cent, more than any other. Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince’s Trust, was quoted in The Guardian saying: "Britain's most vulnerable youngsters will be permanently damaged by the downturn unless they receive the support they need."
The Association of Graduate Recruiters also reports that 47 per cent of employers expect to hire fewer graduates this year – 65 per cent of whom admit this is in response to the downturn. There is even evidence that NEETs (not in employment, education or training) in the 18-24 age group have been increasing steadily over recent years, not just months.
The fact is, not only is there a dearth of opportunities for young people to enter the workforce, it’s in danger of reaching epidemic proportions during the downturn. There may be some anecdotal evidence of employers preferring to replace older workers with younger workers to cut down on wage costs. But there’s little real evidence to back it up, whereas there’s plenty that shows the opposite. And that in turn will lead to a vacuum of skills a few years down the line.
Oh, and one more thing. Deriding a vulnerable group by repeating ill-conceived stereotypes really doesn’t help matters.