An Argentine technology company is looking for people over 50 years old: it added 20 and is looking for 25 more

Laura Andahazi Kasnya

07/31/2021 2:28 PM

• Clarín.com

• Economy

Updated 07/31/2021 2:31 PM

"Nine out of ten job offers

exclude those over 45 because of their age,

" the

Diagonal Civil Association

, which is in charge of the labor insertion of this age group

, announced on the last International Workers' Day on its social networks

.

However, for

María Laura Palacios

, CEO of

G&L Group

, an Argentine company of

IT services and business solutions

 and offices in four other countries, there is no reason that justifies not hiring them.

In contrast, at G&L

those over 50 are proactively sought out

by their human resources department.

In the last 12 months,

one out of every four hires that this company made was over the age of 50

.

At the beginning of the year, the company announced that it was seeking to recruit another 170 people, and that it would include those over 50 with experience in banking services and Cobol computer language.

That search continues to add them to a work team that, says Palacios, is very diverse.

From that search,

20 positions have

already

been filled

by new employees close to retirement.

Within that segment, they

continue to seek to cover another 25 positions, they

added. 

“The focus is on giving opportunities to people who are about to retire, so that they can continue to develop within the labor market and add value to the services we offer.

They are people who

bring to the company experience, knowledge of the business and technology, temperance and a lot of energy

”, the businesswoman remarked.

María Laura Palacios, CEO of G&L Group

A value that Palacios also highlights is the

complementarity

that is achieved when the work is carried out collaboratively by young people who are just starting out in technology and the workplace together with older people who, due to their experience, can act as

mentors

since, according to Palacios , have vast knowledge to contribute to the construction of job profiles.

At G&L Group - which also has offices in

Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Spain

- 350 people work and a

third are over 50 years old

, with an average seniority of

7 years

.

According to Palacios, the data has nothing to do with a quota policy that ensures inclusion, but that age is

not an issue that worries them

and as long as the candidate proves knowledge and attitude there are no reasons that prevent their entry.

“For this, our recruiters work with the principle of

Blind Curriculum Vitae

, which means that we show the candidate without specifying their gender, age or nationality.

Only information referring to your training and professional experience is included.

This way we ensure that whoever selects a candidate does so without giving rise to biased selections.

This is something that we enact and we try to promote and

evangelize with clients as well

, as it is not a very common practice, "he explained.

"In inclusion, differences are used to create an environment where

everyone feels and is valued,

" added Palacios.

However, he clarified, including also requires the company to take care not to demand and give the same to everyone, but rather to worry and take care of giving everyone what they need.

“To ensure integration, the human resources department organizes discussions where experiences are shared, emotions are monitored and comprehensive support is carried out to ensure the adaptation of people to work teams.

We also do after-office and other integration activities with themes adapted to all ages to foster bonds and create a good working environment in the work teams ”.

Tec Women

According to the latest report from the Permanent Observatory of the Software and Information Services Industry (OPSSI 2020), in the last 15 years female participation in the IT world has doubled.

The growth of women went from 26% in 2018 to 30% in 2020, which means an increase of 15% in two years.

If this trend is sustained, in 2024 the female workforce would be around 40% of the total in the sector.

Palacios, who is also vice president of the

Software Chamber

and co-founder of the

Club de Chicas Programadoras

, is personally committed to the insertion of women in the field of technology.

For this reason, he affirmed, in G&L

25% are women

and in managerial and executive positions that percentage rises to

56%

.

Last March, G&L Group carried out the call and the registration process to be part of its “2021 Training Program” and awarded

120 scholarships

to people interested in acquiring technical skills to work as a Full Stack Java Developer.

The call worked: in 5 days, 1,877 people signed up to be part of the program and participated in different stages of evaluation to be selected and receive the scholarships.

However, according to the enrollment data, the company managed to interpret certain trends: for example, that of every 10 people seeking training in technology,

7 are men and 3 are women

.

Among men, 46% were between 26 and 35 years old and

only 2% were over 50 years old

.

Among the women, 51% were between 26 and 35 and

none were older than 50

.

(Note published in the August issue of

Pymes Magazine

)