Fifty employers have now signed up to the 50/50 challenge being driven by Gloucestershire County council and backed by Business West.

The 50/50 initiative has been designed to give people over 50 the same number of hours-50-as a free work placement so they can get the feel of returning to work again.

Gloucestershire County Council’s Employment & Skills Hub took up the challenge  enthusiastically and have just told me they have now signed up 50 employers with a hundred plus over 50s.

This is a marvellous achievement by Vikki Walters’ team, their enthusiasm has been infectious.

What they have managed to do is help to break down the stigma attached to the fact that if you are over 50 you are over the hill and past it with no up to the minute skills.

And let’s face it, after the rigours of Covid, many people over 50 started thinking like this-especially when they started thinking of applying for jobs online. Some had few computer skills.

These over 50s, later learners, often needed more support to boost their confidence while many had suffered mental health problems after Covid.

I think that the 50/50 project has been something of a disruptor for good with recruitment.

In my career as an editor, I have often found that the very best people are those that we might call disruptors-employees who question the norm and have different ideas.

The 50/50 project has attracted a good spread of employers right across the work sectors. I had thought the opportunities for over 50s might be dominated by the care sector in Gloucestershire. Not so.

Unusually, the team found GP surgery opportunities as part of a rich vein of jobs being offered.

I think Andy Rudge, part of the county council’s team, summed up 50/50 very well when he told me: ”What happened here was the creation of a market place.

“We put together the buyers and the sellers with 50/50. We had employers keen to take it on because they knew they would be helping themselves”.

This is a great start for a simple idea to boost the confidence of the over 50s wanting to return to work and the willingness of employers to see the recruitment opportunities it presents.