Britain’s bosses opt for experience over youth

Britain’s SME bosses rate middle aged employees over younger employees, according to recent research from Abbey Business Banking.

Carried out amongst a representative sample of SME owners, Abbey’s research demonstrates that 30 per cent of SME bosses cite workers in their forties as being the hardest working age group, followed by those in their thirties (24 per cent) and then twenties (14 per cent).

34 per cent said young workers were average and only 19 per cent described them as being above average. 29 per cent of them describe younger job candidates as either ‘not good’ or ‘poor’.

SME bosses voice further concerns over the dearth of young talent that they could recruit, believing that only 36 per cent were content, 42 per cent were loyal and 47 per cent hard working.

Ian Wilson, Managing Director of Abbey Business, commented: “This research demonstrates the challenges Britain’s SME bosses have when sourcing the appropriate talent for their business. It appears that more experienced workers in their 30s and 40s are deemed the most attractive for SME bosses. ”

“People who run their own company often expect more from their staff as they have a huge vested interest in the success of the business. They should also expect a lot from their bank which is why Abbey provides them free day-to-day banking forever and one of the best savings rates on the market.”