The Hospitality Industry – offering a career path for those fifty and over

Finding employment or launching a new career can present some real challenges for anyone but this may be especially difficult for persons who are fifty years and older.

The good news is that one industry is making strides to provide the more mature job seeker with many viable options. The hospitality industry, unlike many others which seem to cater mainly for ‘millennials’ (persons born in the early 1980’s – early 2000’s), could very well prove to be the saving grace for the growing over 50 workforce. This older demographic who are on the hunt for job opportunities where their work and life experiences add value and where they can enjoy perks and work flexible hours, should look no further than to the exciting world of hospitality.

While millennials may have the edge due to their technical capabilities and adaptability to ever evolving software, the over 50’s have the people skills – and from all accounts, the hospitality industry is smartly finding ways to balance both groups of human capital. Statistics show that the world now has an aging population and those with their fingers on the pulse of what’s trending in hospitality are noting that many players in the industry are working apace to find ways to tailor services specific to the needs of the expected influx of the more senior clientele. A spinoff of this is a thrust to employ those with excellent people skills which is now paving the way for the over 50’s to find their niche. Indeed many older workers are joining the industry to work as tour guides and greeters – and with the growing number of hospitality specific courses and programs available to augment their acquired skills, the hospitality sector provides a smorgasbord of opportunities to the older population.

Flexible working hours can also sweeten the deal with options available for those who prefer to work the night shift, as well as for the early risers who can report for duty at the crack of dawn, and there’s even the weekend shift for those who want to take the week off.