Change in firms’ mindsets key to helping older PMETs

I refer to the report “$28m boost for fund to help PMETs switch careers” (June 15).

The crux of the issue rests on employers’ mindsets too. No doubt, our economy is restructuring and our job scopes and expertise may no longer be relevant today. But senior professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) have a wealth of experience and exposure, which cannot be taken away and are not easily learnt.

They have traits such as maturity, responsibility, people management skills and, most importantly, the ability to weather hardship, which today’s youth might not possess.

Employers tend to favour younger employees, probably those who are degree holders or, worse, foreigners, because they may be cheaper to employ.

I once met a young and well-spoken taxi driver who had been plying the roads for six months while searching for a full-time job. He was just 35 years old, holds a mechanical engineering degree from Nanyang Technological University, and was let go by his former company after five years as a senior mechanical engineer. He was the first to get retrenched, but some of his foreigner colleagues kept their jobs. He was jobless for two years despite sending numerous job applications.

What happened? Perhaps his employers favoured younger staff fresh out of school, or foreigners, because they are less expensive to employ?

Sadly, many employers or human resources personnel, especially younger ones, deem a person in their 40s and 50s to be past their prime, stubborn and unable to take instruction.

I am heartened our Government is pumping more money into the Professional Conversion Programmes to help retrenched PMETs, but there is more to be done to address employers’ mindset. After all, it takes two hands to clap.