MODERATOR:Denise Bottcheris the director of AARP Louisiana.
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Carly Roszkowski:With that lead in, I think we’re ready for our next panel.
Before we do, I just want to remind you to ask your questions.
Denise Bottcher:Thank you so much.
Welcome everyone from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
I am excited to be moderating this panel today.
I want to introduce Mauricio Garcia.
Then we’re also joined, by Cherie LaCour Duckworth.
She’s the vice president of the Urban League of Louisiana’s Office of Workforce Development.
Welcome to both of them for today’s panel.
We’re going to go to an audience question using our Slido tool.
If we can go ahead and put that question up.
This dropped to 18 percent in 2020, and it’s continually been on the rise since COVID.
you might select as many as you want.
So older adults can choose not to work.
People are still chiming in here.
So our panelists have joined us here, Cherie and Mauricio, so glad you’re joining us.
Cherie LaCour Duckworth:Thank you for having us.
We do have bills to pay, we have other obligations to meet on a monthly basis.
In my mind, I’m thinking about building more funding opportunities for individuals who are aging.
Denise Bottcher:Thank you so much, Cherie.
What do you think, Mauricio?
What were some of the things you were thinking about as our viewers were responding to that poll?
Mauricio Garcia:Sure, and thank you for having me and for having UnidosUS join this important conversation.
What can we do, not just training people, but how are we working with our employers?
In terms of the benefits, the retirement benefit, those things.
It’s a sandwich, right?
It’s not one, it’s all of it.
Denise Bottcher:Thank you so much for that.
Cherie, AARP Louisiana has had a great relationship with the Urban League of Louisiana.
It includes jobs for the aging population.
Those individuals went to school, they took four weeks of life skills training.
We paid them while they were in training.
Immediately after they completed and gained their certifications from the Baton Rouge Community College and Delgado Community College.
They will connect it to their employment where they are currently right now working.
Again, this includes some individuals who would be considered as an aging individual.
There are service technicians working towards an ASE certification.
They will be able to continue their education as we grow this workforce towards EV electrical vehicles.
These individuals come from various backgrounds.
Many of them, or some of them, were actually returning citizens.
Denise Bottcher:Thank you so much, Cherie.
Mauricio Garcia:Of course, and thank you again for having me today and for this question.
I’m excited for this response.
To do so, we need to change the way in which our systems operate.
Educators, community colleges, four-year institutions, and a whole lot more.
We’re connecting those dots.
What is skills based hiring?
Did you go to this school, that school?
One sort of example that I would share that involves skills-based hiring involves a job description.
Everyone creates them, everyone posts them.
We’re redefining job descriptions to be skill based, so removing those education barriers.
In this program, we’re specifically partnering with two of our affiliates.
We have nearly 300 around the country.
Mechanical aviation and construction in Puerto Rico and medical administration and human resources in Denver.
Then there’s a piece around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We’re seeing an influx of folks saying we want and we need help.
How can you help us, or how can you connect us to folks who do this well?
Denise Bottcher:Thank you so much, Mauricio.
What are the benefits of a diverse workforce, especially an age diverse workforce?
And how can local governments, employers, community organizations promote the value of the 50 plus worker?
It’s important and it’s backed by research.
And they are 87% better at making decisions, leading to faster problem solving and better problem solving.
A shift to a skills-based hiring is one way to promote diversity.
This approach values candidates unique talents and capabilities from a variety of different backgrounds.
As long as they have the skills to be successful in the job.
That’s something that’s key to, to be able to incorporate that approach in a thoughtful way.
It’s important to highlight those success stories that can alter attitudes.
More than half of America’s small businesses owners are over 50.
Denise Bottcher:Thank you so much, Mauricio.
Thank you, Mauricio, for that.
It helps them to meet the needs of the customers that they serve every day.
Denise Bottcher:So true, yes, absolutely.
We’re going to do just a rapid-fire response on our final question.
Cherie, I’m going to start with you first.
So, with that in mind, what should we each be ready to do differently?
As a result of what you’ve shared with us today.
Cherie LaCour Duckworth:What we should each be doing differently is what we’re not doing right now.
We’re not educating our job seekers for aging in the workforce.
We don’t see that a lot.
We just see job training programs popping up.
The individuals themselves do not necessarily know what these industries are.
To give an example of that, we hosted a clean energy job fair yesterday.
Oh, I do have transferable skills that I can bring to this particular job.
So yeah, I can apply and compete and obtain that employment.
Denise Bottcher:Thank you, Cherie.
I’ll venture to be short.
So first, start by looking at your organization first.
What are you, what is your organization doing to advance diversity in the workplace?
So that means reviewing and assessing your current policies and procedures.
The second step, I would say, is to align your policies and procedures with best practices.
Also shifting the mindset to be more inclusive and intentional with diversity.
Employers benefit from qualified talent.
Denise Bottcher:Yeah.
That’s absolutely correct.
Well, I turn now to if anyone has any questions, place those in the chat.
Mike Watson:Yeah, thanks, Denise.
We already have a lot of great questions here in Slido.
That was a really fantastic conversation there.
UnidosUS we’re at nearly 300 affiliates.
But in terms the actual work, whether it’s urban, rural, it depends on the industry.
It depends on what industries may or may not be in folks backyards.
There’s no one size fits all approach to this work.
I would just say that there are organizations that do serve some locations.
I would first start there.
And then secondly, UnidosUS can be a resource.
National Urban League, whether it’s a local chapter or the national chapter, could be a resource.
There is countless other organizations that are doing this work as well.
Denise Bottcher:Wonderful.
Cherie, do you have anything to add to that?
Cherie LaCour Duckworth:Yeah.
So, in Louisiana, we don’t have as many rural areas, but we do have some.
Providing a skill-based training to individuals is actually key.
So that you’re free to have access to great talent.
It actually makes them a lot more competitive in the workforce today.
Working with the employers and having them to understand why they should consider also someone with a skill-based resume.
In terms of those who are in rural areas, it’s the same thing.
So people that are in oil and gas could be considered for clean energy.
I would tailor again my resume to showcase my skills.
I’ve always heard, you know, school is not for everybody.
I don’t think it’s that.
Mike Watson:That’s really, I think, really good, helpful guidance for folks.
Unfortunately, I think that was time for our last question.
So, Mauricio, I think you’re going to get the last word on this topic.
To me, community colleges are our nation’s secret sauce.
So I think it’s a great, great note to end on.
Denise, Mauricio, Cherie, thank you so much for joining.
It was such a pleasure to have you here.
All Panelists:Thanks for having us.
Thank you so much.
Mike Watson:Thank you again.
Carly Roszkowski:That was a great panel and thank you to Denise and our panelists.
Nearly two thirds say that they believe there’s still a lot to accomplish in their careers.
That’s why we launched the Employer Pledge Program.
Nationally, we’ve seen increased interest from employers in hiring older workers.
Over 2,500 companies have signed on to the AARP Employer Pledge since 2012.
From 2021 to 2022, the number of organizations that signed the pledge increased by 122 percent.
This growth is a good indicator that many companies are increasingly looking to hire older, experienced workers.
The benefits of age diversity range from reduced employee turnover to higher employee engagement, productivity and profitability.
