Countywide : 150 Attend Job Fair for Older People

Paul Tien had more than 20 years’ experience working in electronics and computers when the Tustin company he worked for closed in 1987.

Although his skills are heavily in demand in the job market, Tien has not been able to find work.

Tien, 59, of Fullerton, said that in his experience, the corporate world does not want to hire senior citizens. He said that even though he has offered to work for less than he was making before, “all they see is my age, my wrinkles and my gray hair.”

But Tien was among more than 150 older people at a job fair for older people Tuesday at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center. Representatives of 20 local companies were on hand for the event, the eighth annual such fair, but the first to be held in Orange County. The National Council on the Aging, Volt Temporary Services and Bank of America were the sponsors.

“We want to introduce the business community to the untapped resource of the elderly,” said Mark Mathews, coordinator of the fair. “The majority of the businesses we contacted were very receptive to the idea.”

Target Stores, Nordstrom and Carl’s Jr. restaurants were among the companies looking for older people.

“We currently have about 300 senior citizens working for us in 13 Orange County stores,” said Rose Rogers, Target personnel director. “We offer a variety flexible hours for the elderly, so they don’t have to work late if they don’t want to, or work too many hours.”

According to projections in a council report, there will be 15 million fewer people between the ages of 18 and 25 in 1999 than there are today. Further, the report says that employee absence rates decrease with age and that workers hired at ages 55 and older attain higher performance ratings in shorter times than do those hired before age of 30.

“I would say that the best thing about employing seniors is that they are dependable,” said Rudy Armenta, manager of Chief Auto Parts in Santa Ana. “We have a commitment to have one senior in each of our 18 Orange County stores by the end of the year.”

Although many of the older people at the fair cited financial reasons for wanting to re-enter the job market, some said the motivation was a desire to stay active.

“I’ve been retired for about five months, and that’s all the time it took to prove I can’t sit home,” said Georgia Eskridge, 63, of Costa Mesa, who is a former retail store employee. “If you have a good mind after retirement, you have to keep alert, and you do that with activity. I don’t think any senior should sit home after retirement.”