The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System,
including Bayview Medical Center, announced last week that
it will participate in a major new program developed by the
American Association of Retired Persons Foundation to help
Americans age 50 and older to find jobs and stay in the
work force.
Hopkins joins 12 other prominent organizations as
Featured Employers committed to an aggressive program of
recruiting, hiring and retaining mature workers.
Other participating employers are Adecco, AlliedBarton
Security Services, Borders Group, Express Personnel
Services, Kelly Services, Manpower, MetLife, Pitney Bowes,
Principal Financial Group, Home Depot, Universal Health
Services and Walgreens.
The overall goal of AARP Foundation's Workforce
Initiative is to connect mature workers with job
opportunities by linking them with skills assessment tools
and training resources. The program also will help match
those in search of full- or part-time jobs or new careers
with companies who value their experience.
"The strength of this program involves commitment on
the state and local level working with both the public and
private work force sectors to provide connections for
mature workers seeking employment," said Ronald R.
Peterson, president of JHHS. "We see this as a win-win for
Hopkins and for the community."
"We are working with these forward-thinking businesses
to increase the impact of an aging work force on the
economy," said Jerry Florence, director of the AARP
Foundation. "We want to improve the economic well-being of
mature workers seeking employment and build awareness of
the need for and value of the older worker."
In February 2004 the AARP Foundation announced its
first hiring partnership, with the Home Depot, to attract,
motivate and retain eligible older workers as part- and
full-time associates in new and existing stores across the
country. Hundreds of thousands of inquiries were received
immediately and throughout the year from AARP members and
others interested in employment.
According to AARP, by 2010 almost one in three workers
will be at least 50. As boomers begin to approach
retirement age, the pool of replacement workers will not be
large enough to meet employers' labor demands. In working
with the AARP Foundation, Featured Employers have
recognized the need to prepare for the changing work force.
Job seekers can visit AARP's Web site
www.aarp.org/featuredemployers.
to learn about types of jobs available, benefits and how to
apply; it also provides a link to applications,
instructions and additional information for each company.
Job search assistance and resources geared toward the
50-plus worker can be found at
www.aarp.org/careers.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership
organization that represents people aged 50 and older. The
AARP Foundation is AARP's affiliated charity.
GO TO