Entrepreneurship and green economy, this is how new job opportunities arise for senior talent

Spain is one of the countries with the highest life expectancy in the world—83.7 years on average—a situation that does not translate to the same way in the workplace. 29% of unemployed people during the third quarter of 2024 are between 50 and 64 years old—some 818,200 professionals—according to the latest Active Population Survey (EPA). And 56% of people over 50 have been looking for work for more than a year but 75% have not gotten an interview in the last six months, reveals the latest report Your age is a treasure of the Vulnerability and Employment Observatory of the Adecco Foundation.

“The labor market does not have a very good opinion of seniors,” laments Elsa Novo de Miguel, head of employment and green entrepreneurship at the Endesa Foundation. “There is a prejudice towards those over 50, although their resumes are good, with experience and training. The border between young and old is surely too big,” he adds.

Against the phone off syndrome

With the aim of fighting against ageism at work suffered by unemployed people over 50 years of age, the Endesa Foundation, in association with the Máshumano Foundation, has launched Sap Generation. This is a non-profit project that provides solutions to enhance senior talent – ​​the one with the highest proportion of long-term unemployed – taking into account two dimensions: the need that these people have to continue working and contributing to the society, and the demand that exists in the business world to capture the qualities that this group possesses.

People over 50 “are not used to being unemployed,” says Novo de Miguel, “because they belong to a generation with considerable job stability.” When the labor market stops counting on them, and especially if the situation drags on, they are overcome by a situation of helplessness “which at Savia we want to answer,” continues the head of the Endesa Foundation. To stimulate entrepreneurship at this vital moment, Savia has been organizing, for six years and together with the production company 2:59 Films, the Awards +50 Get started, the largest entrepreneurship competition for senior professionals.

New ‘Green Entrepreneurship Award’

With 33,000 euros in prizes and 20,000 euros in advice, the awards aim to make the senior group visible and motivate them. Registration to participate in the VI +50 Emprende Awards It is now open, and until January 31, 2025, both developed projects and those that are in an embryonic state can be submitted. In addition to being driven by senior people, the jury will value applications that promote innovation, offer economic, technical and management viability, are committed to a strategic economic sector and create jobs. In this edition, the awards have the new Green Entrepreneurship Awardendowed with 15,000 euros, to distinguish initiatives within the fields of energy transition and the circular economy —whether they are closer to engineering or not.

This area, green employment, offers many job opportunities: the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2023-2030 projects the creation of between 250,000 and 350,000 green jobs in Spain in the coming years. It is a particularly interesting field for people over 50 years of age, with options that range from technical profiles to environmental project management, including sustainable tourism. The green economy has a long way to go and contribute, with innovation as its flagship.

Mature and successful entrepreneurship

At 52 years old, Ana Atienza was a finalist in the IV Edition of the +50 Emprende Awards. After 17 years in a company, he lost his job and “I was interested in doing something, I took it as an opportunity. At 50 you want to contribute, your life is on track and you want to do something that can be useful.” She discovered the world of roofs and vertical gardens and, with a partner, a little over a year ago they launched The Sky Garden. “It is a difficult sector, but I think that in a short time it will be a boom in Spain,” he predicts.

“In recent years, the people who have submitted to the +50 Awards are between 54 and 56 years old on average, 60% are men and 40% women and, over the years, the level of the projects has improved” , points out Elsa Novo de Miguel.

Atienza’s momentum and Sap Generation’s objectives are not a leap into the void. Along with experience and knowledge, companies created by entrepreneurs over 50 have a five-year survival rate that is triple that of those built by those under 30. And “according to a study by the Harvard Business Review, companies led by Entrepreneurs over 50 years old are 1.8 times more likely to be successful than those founded by people under 30,” in the words of Juan Carlos Alcaide, sociologist and executive director of Silver Economy Company to the magazine. Entrepreneurs.

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