Getting the over-50s back to work: how LevelPlus is making a difference

Could you explain the main role of LevelPlus and how your career advisors specifically help older people re-enter the job market?

LevelPlus supports job seekers aged 50 and over from certain sectors (banking, finance, IT, supply chain, administration, HR, marketing and communication, and management) in their job search. We help them become more visible to companies through specific, tailor-made support. Our HR talent managers monitor each candidate through regular meetings, advising them on a career path tailored to their current needs, providing targeted advice on their applications and their positioning in the job market, and ensuring that the tools provided are used effectively throughout the process.

LevelPlus also organises networking events several times a month: Meetups, Hackathons, Happy Hour... These are all opportunities for our talented individuals to meet potential recruiters and companies within the walls of the superb Voisins de Saint Gervais co-working space, which is conducive to connections and exchanges.

What types of workshops does LevelPlus offer to support senior citizens in their job search? Could you give a few examples?

From the outset, we have been committed to diversifying our course offering in order to give our talented graduates the best possible chance of finding employment. We therefore offer a wide range of themed courses related to employability tools (ATS-compatible CVs, LinkedIn, pitching, job interviews, etc.), self-confidence (workshops on mental attitude and public speaking), and artificial intelligence, which can be used to improve job applications, stand out in terms of skills, and optimise job searches.

We are also committed to facilitating encounters between our talented individuals, which is why we offer collaborative and self-managed workshops (Challenge your Business Caneva or Challenge your CV), enabling them to help each other and expand their network.

How does LevelPlus tailor these workshops to the specific needs of senior participants?

The courses we offer could be applied to all age groups. Ultimately, senior workers need to work with the same tools as their younger colleagues! But the difference lies in recognising their vast experience and knowing how to showcase it. From the age of 50 onwards, people have a wealth of expertise and highly developed soft skills, and the challenge is knowing how to reveal these qualities in order to highlight their uniqueness to companies.

How important is digital technology training for senior citizens to LevelPlus, and how is this integrated into your workshops?

Due to the nature of their industries, our talents generally face very few digital barriers. Their respective jobs have enabled them to evolve alongside various IT tools!

As part of our support, all our materials are digital (email communications, digital course materials, time tracking via an app, online workshop bookings, etc.), so there's no risk of losing track at levelPlus! Since 2023, we have also been offering a programme of workshops and meetups related to AI, which our talents love and eagerly participate in!

How does LevelPlus involve local employers in the design and implementation of your professional integration programmes for older people?

To begin with, this initiative is taking shape within the beautiful Voisins de Saint Gervais co-working space: it is in LevelPlus's DNA to offer a space that is open to encounters and at the heart of the job market.

Since September 2023, we have also positioned ourselves as recruitment partners for companies, through Speed Dating events, Meetups, a Recruiter Area on our website, and Hackathons. As a result, many companies contact us regularly to take part in our events or to request assistance with their recruitment needs.

We are also in constant contact with recruitment agencies that regularly come to meet our talents and offer workshops (Procadres International, Mickael Page, Experis, etc.).

How does LevelPlus measure the impact of its integration services and workshops on the success of older people returning to work?

We support our talents for four months and continue to monitor them for a further three months after the assessment. In this context, talents who find a job are included in our reclassification statistics, which we classify by sector of activity and type of contract signed. However, talents often find a job within six months of the measurement. In this case, they are no longer included in our statistics, but our alumni continue to keep us informed of their progress.

We have also established a culture of feedback, using forms/surveys after each workshop, as well as a final assessment questionnaire. These tools enable us to tailor our support programme as closely as possible to the needs of the beneficiaries.

How does LevelPlus encourage lifelong learning among older people, and what are the main challenges encountered? 

Firstly, it is important to note that employability is something that is developed throughout one's career, partly through continuing education. LevelPlus is not designed to provide continuing education, which would require more targeted and longer programmes. Other programmes listed by the OCE address these issues when specific training is identified to improve the employability of a job seeker.

On the other hand, through the thematic workshops offered by LevelPlus, we also encourage our talents to train themselves on new tools (e.g. AI) in order to keep pace with developments in the job market and its new benchmarks. Our approach clearly encourages our talents to take an interest in new fields and, in doing so, to develop new skills that are essential for remaining competitive in the job market.

What are the main barriers to employment that LevelPlus advisers identify among older people, and how do the workshops address them? 

We can say that barriers differ depending on profiles, backgrounds and mindsets. If we had to generalise, one of the unspoken obstacles is ageism, i.e. the prejudices and stereotypes that stick to the over-50s... among which the following are very common: Too old; not flexible enough; lack of agility; overwhelmed by new technologies; fragile health; too expensive; etc. But let's not kid ourselves, these are just limiting beliefs. It's about changing mindsets, and that takes time!

Our awareness campaign launched in September 2023 was clearly aimed at this, with the objective of breaking down these barriers by promoting all the advantages of the 50+ age group as a high value-added workforce for teams and the company. 

Can you share a success story of a senior citizen who has benefited from LevelPlus's integration programmes?

We have loads of them! One example that springs to mind is Sandra, who was going through a very difficult personal, family and financial situation due to her unemployment. We supported her all the way (even after the programme ended) and it worked! After participating in all our workshops, thanks to her regular attendance, unwavering motivation and the moral support of the whole team, she was able to find a job in a nursing home a few weeks after leaving LevelPlus. She continues to take part in almost all our events and is even our mascot, as she is featured on the home page of our website!

What psychological support LevelMore What support does it offer to help older people overcome the emotional challenges of looking for work after a long period of inactivity?

Beyond workshops designed to help manage stress (e.g. Mental+), LevelPlus's main contribution in this area is clearly to break down isolation. Simply working in a coworking space that encourages discussion, peer support, a collaborative spirit and a dynamic working environment, all underpinned by attentiveness, kindness and respect, helps people regain their self-confidence or at least feel better equipped to deal with emotional challenges.

Finally, simply learning how to master all the tools needed for job hunting, or receiving support in defining an action plan for returning to work, helps to reassure talented individuals and thereby boost their motivation.

Does LevelPlus collaborate with other organisations or institutions to improve employment prospects for older people? 

The first step is to develop an ecosystem of companies committed to LevelPlus's mission and its offerings and services to meet their recruitment challenges. This obviously requires communication efforts and active outreach to forge links with key players in the recruitment sector (directors, HR directors, managers, etc.).

The second point is to continuously work on networking, which creates encounters and diverse opportunities, clearly conducive to identifying the hidden market. Organisations are most often similar to umbrella organisations, networking bodies and all other organisations bringing together players in Geneva's economic fabric.

What future developments does LevelPlus envisage to improve and expand its professional integration services for older people?

Among the developments identified, one of the main ones would be to develop the «commercial» division, consolidate our business ecosystem, promote our offerings and services, as well as CSR (e.g. diversity, inclusion, intergenerational transfer, etc.) and forge links with recruitment stakeholders. The more companies that get on board with LevelPlus, the more professional opportunities there will be for our talented individuals!