New skills matching website promises to put over 50s and carers into work

LONDON - Jan. 14, 2014 - PRLog -- Trading Times (www.tradingtimes.org.uk), the award winning website that matches the needs of local business with the skills of local people who are over 50 or part time carers, launches its nationwide service this month, following a successful six-month pilot in North London.

Funded by Nominet Trust, the Department of Health, UnLtd and London Borough of Barnet, Trading Times is on a mission to change the way society views the over 50s as well as those who provide care for relatives, by matching their skills with local employers for part-time paid work opportunities.

According the UK Office for National Statistics, there are over 22 million people over 50 in the UK, and Carers UK report that 6.5 million British adults are carers, many of whom have skills and experience to offer and are looking for work on a flexible basis.

People like Ron Mobbs, 68 from Cockfosters, London, who worked for 20 years as a senior management consultant. Ron doesn’t need to work now, but he wants to keep active and keep contributing to society. Ron says, “People like me have a vast range of experience. We’ve been there, we’ve got the t-shirt. We know how to cope with change better, we listen better, we’ve loads of knowledge and contacts. All this would be enormously valuable to a younger, smaller business. And the best part is that we can control the variables that we weren’t able to in corporate life - when, where and for how long we work!”

Another example is Mary Kazi, 65 from New Barnet, London, with 25 years’ experience in finance and local government, who is looking to work for just a few hours a week with local businesses. Mary says, “I was working for a company as an administrator for 20 years. Unfortunately, the company closed and all 300 of us were made redundant. I wasn’t quite ready for that. I was planning to continue working until I was 65, and possibly even beyond working three days a week. Suddenly that all came to a halt. I found it hard to adjust to retirement, finding it rather boring and also lonely. I missed the purpose and structure of work. Trading Times enables me to work flexibly and local to where I live. I now have some work that fits in with my life and not the other way round. The matching process means I’m not one of 200 applicants applying for one job, and you’re more likely to find what’s right for you.”

Employers benefit as much as those looking for work, by gaining experienced, skilled and reliable people to work for their business, who can work on a flexible basis. Liz Backhouse from Hotsquash inBarnet, says “Our small fashion company is growing rapidly. We needed extra hands to help cope while we recruited permanent people. Trading Times matched us with two candidates with the skills and availability we needed. Their hourly rates were good too. We’ll get them in again when we hit the next threshold.”

Founder Dr Jonathan Collie says, “Every business has jobs that need doing; IT support, accounts, marketing, updating the website. One-off, occasional or part-time jobs like these are crucial, but often left undone, because finding the right person for the job is either too difficult or too costly. This is where Trading Times comes in – matching business needs with local, experienced, skilled and flexible people who don’t need training, or hand-holding, in other words people who come with a life’s worth of experience. Businesses aren’t aware of all these amazing people on their doorstep. And the over 50s and family carers didn’t have a mechanism to connect with businesses who need their skills. Trading Times has a big social objective. We feel it’s our responsibility to connect these two groups and in so doing achieve a much richer, more productive, inspiring and aspiring place to live.”

Nominet Trust CEO Annika Small adds, “Trading Times is helping to redefine retirement. It’s a brilliant service that draws on the flexibility and skills of older people to help local businesses”

All businesses need to do is register at www.tradingtimes.org.uk, post their jobs, and let the Trading Times service match them with local people who have the right skills and availability. It’s free to register, post jobs and to read anonymous candidate profiles. Employers only pay when they want to connect with the candidates, at just £35 for up to 10 connections per job.

Website: www.tradingtimes.org.uk

Twitter: @TradingTimesUK

Facebook: TradingTimesUK

- ENDS -

Video: http://youtu.be/SaQHd08aSzk



Hi res images available at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e5ixka880ybyh43/nOhc0Emf8B

Notes to editors

Relevant stats:

Trading Times won the ‘Living well with dementia’ Design Challenge, 2011-12 (run by Design Council on behalf of the Department of Health). Initially conceived to help carers of people with dementia remain in the workplace, Trading times has since been extended to address the flexible/ part-time working needs of all carers and everyone over 50 in the UK. Trading Times was selected from 154 service innovations and awarded £60,000 grant funding to develop a working prototype, which was unveiled May 2012 by Paul Burstow MP, the Care Services Minister.

Since then, Trading Times has received grant funding support from UnLtd, London Borough of Barnet and more recently from Nominet Trust.

There are more than 22 million people over 50 in the UK. (Source: ONS)

There are more than 6 million adult carers in the UK. (Source: Carers UK)

27% of all family carers would like to take up paid work. Flexible working hours and the ability to work from home being the two most important factors. (Source: Carers UK)

Employers are increasingly relying on interim and flexible staffing solutions. 18% percent of all UK employers plan to hire more temporary or contract workers in preference to permanent staff. (Source: ONS)

Between December 2010 and December 2012 the number of temporary workers increased by 89,000 - 46% of the total rise in employment. (Source: TUC)

There are 2.3m active SMEs in the UK (403,000 in London). (Source: ONS)

Life expectancy in the UK has reached its highest level on record for both males (77.7) and females (81.9). (Source: ONS Statistical Bulletin, 2010)

UK state pension age for women in the UK is rising from 60-65. From December 2018 the state pension age for both men and women will start to rise, to reach 66 by 2020. The current government is also considering the timetable for future increases to the state pension age from 66-68 years of age. (Source: DirectGovUK, 2011).

About Trading Times

Trading Times is about more than helping businesses find the people with the skills and experience they need. We’re here for two groups of people in particular – the over 50s, and family carers. They’re the perfect resource for people with a job that needs doing, but they’re often overlooked.

The over 50s and family carers have loads of skills and experience, and they have time. But often they don’t want to work 9 to 5. They’re looking for flexible jobs that make use of their talents, and fit with their lives.

There are millions of people over 50 and family carers in the UK. We can’t let all that ability go to waste! Let’s value their skills and experience – and benefit everyone.

Trading Times is a new online social enterprise that matches the skills and availability of over 50s and family carers with the flexible ad hoc resource requirements of local businesses.

Trading Times won the national ‘Living well with dementia’ Design Challenge (Design Council/ Department of Health) as a service to help carers find flexible paid work opportunities.

Trading Times is supported by Nominet Trust, London Borough of Barnet, UnLtd, Design Council, and the Department of Health.

www.tradingtimes.org.uk

About Nominet Trust

Nominet Trust is the UK’s only dedicated Tech for Good funder. The Trust believes in harnessing the power of digital technology to improve lives and communities. A UK registered charity, Nominet Trust brings together, invests in and supports people committed to using digital technology to create social and economic value.

Nominet Trust has invested in hundreds of projects since its inception, providing business support as well as financial investment, seeking to connect projects to prospective partners who can help increase their reach and impact.

Nominet Trust was founded in 2008 by Nominet, the not-for-profit organisation responsible for the smooth and secure running of the .uk internet infrastructure. Nominet has a strong public purpose and the Trust is one example of its commitment to creating a safer, accessible and diverse internet.

www.nominettrust.org.uk