and by 2033

This has lead People 1st chief executive Brian Wisdom to ask why the hospitality industry has not reached out to this sector to fill the skills gap.

What many people don't realise is that older workers are a growing demographic, and by 2033, 23 percent of the UK's population will be 65 or over. This has gone up 16 percent from 2009. It is surprising that the hospitality industry still relies heavily on the shrinking young workforce when a recent survey by the EHRC proves that two-thirds of women and men over 50 would like to keep working past the state pension age.

Older workers with a great deal of experience may be put off because the industry insists on attempting to appeal to younger workers this results in them feeling undervalued.

Interestingly, McDonald's decided to utilise the experience of older workers and consequently they are now seeing the benefits. Around two-fifths of their restaurants currently employ staff in that age bracket. In August 2009, Lancaster University carried out a survey of over 400 McDonald's restaurants and discovered that customer satisfaction rose by 20 percent in those employing staff over the age of 60.

Sometimes people assume that older workers are less likely to want to be promoted, but the EHRC found that twice as many over-65s want to be promoted than those who want to downshift and with their experience they certainly have a lot to offer.

The research has also found that 44 percent of respondents really valued the mentoring and training skills that later life workers offered and passed on to younger workers. Furthermore, the research has highlighted other strengths of older workers such as ability to connect with customers, and willingness to 'go the extra mile' to deliver the best possible service.

This is supported by research from the University of Stirling, in partnership with People 1st, which looked at how to sustain employing older workers in the hospitality sector through learning and training.

The research also demonstrated that the traditionally perceived disadvantages in hospitality and tourism, such as low wages, unsocial hours, repetitive work and seasonal employment were not always negative issues for older workers. It suggested despite the assumption that younger workers can be put off by these factors and move on, older workers find compensation for them in being needed, valued, and maintaining a good work-life balance. Maybe it is time for companies to use this group for some stability?

If more employers follow examples like McDonald's and understand that older workers can bring a lot to an organisation, not only can we avoid the frustrating problems of over-reliance on a shrinking demographic, but we can also tap into a wealth of skills and experience that can broaden our industry's appeal as a whole.