Seeking Recruitment Agencies for IT Pros Over 60: How to Overcome Age Bias?

Hi, do you personally know reliable recruitment companies that hire IT professionals over 60 years old in Canada or other countries? I have more than 20 years of experience as an IT professional. In 2018, I lost my job in Brazil at the age of 55 due to unemployment and assumed prejudice against people over 50. As a result, I had to migrate to Japan in 2019 to work as a machine operator in a factory job on the floor. While not bad, I would love to utilize my IT skills. I believe recruiters may fear that 60-year-old individuals would retire soon, but that is not my case. I intend to work for at least the next 10 years to ensure a proper retirement pension. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Retirement Age Policy in Organizations
What is your organization's policy regarding retirement age? If your retirement policy is that people, upon reaching a certain age—58, 60, 62, or 65—your recruitment of people should conform to that. This retirement policy varies from each organization. If you want to recruit somebody beyond the retirement age, then you can appoint somebody only as a consultant on a long-term or short-term contract. It is also called a Fixed Tenure Contract.

Best wishes,

Regards.

Hi, thanks for your comment. Japan's government is requesting companies and people to work until 75 years old due to the shortage of workers. By doing so, they will increase the retirement pension by 86%.

I am interested in working as an IT Professional in Canada or elsewhere, but at the age of 60, it is not easy to be hired. That's my expectation.

It would depend on a lot of different factors:

1. What is your skillset?
2. What languages/platform/framework did you work in?
3. What was your experience and how relevant is it now?
4. Are you a basic coder or a manager/team leader?

There are companies that will be happy to hire someone with experience, but it depends on what you bring to the table. Your knowledge from 2018 may already be outdated, in which case you need to pursue fresh courses or certifications before being considered for hire. Alternatively, if you possess skillsets in older languages that the younger generation is not willing to work on, then there will be companies interested in hiring you.

You will need to search for specific areas where you have the abilities, rather than conducting a generic job search based on age.

Hi, Unlike in India, there are no age restrictions in the USA/Canada. As long as you are proficient in your work domain and physically fit for work, they will definitely consider you. The only thing is you need to knock on the door and see. However, due to a gap of 4-5 years from 2018, you need to enhance your IT skills as per the current trend. There are some professors who work for universities in the USA even at the age of 85. They will look at your skills and experience, not your age.

Alternatively, with 20 years of experience in IT, you can work as a consultant on an assignment basis for multiple companies without leaving your hometown, using the remote working option if allowed by the employer.

You can also consider becoming an entrepreneur using your IT knowledge, hiring a few juniors under you, and selling your experience to companies. I am not sure about the cost factors in Japan related to hiring office space, paying staff salaries, and meeting other statutory requirements. However, if you have some backup funds, you can explore that option as well.

Wishing you all the best! I appreciate your enthusiasm at the age of 60!

Thank you all for your tips! My first IT job as an Information Systems Coordinator was at K/FI, Korn/Ferry International, in 1998. They provided me with internal training as an Office Guru at their HQ in the USA. In Brazil, they sponsored my Microsoft training in Exchange Server and Windows Server; at that time, it was Windows NT 4.0. Throughout my IT career, I have installed and managed Windows versions from 2000 to 2012, but the essence remains NT 4.0—the principles, the core.

This year, only two US companies interviewed me. There was truly no age discriminatory policy at play. GoTo (LogMeIn) and Amazon AWS both conducted four interviews with me. I realize I must work on increasing and updating my skills. I have worked in various other areas, for companies of different sizes and in different positions. At the age of 60, I am eager to join an organization, to work, share my experience and knowledge, and contribute as much as I can to all my co-workers.

My LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/makoto-shimizu-791aa/