On Medicare and looking for work: Ventura County job fair brings out hundreds in their 60s, 70s
Cindy Hass needs a job because she was laid off as a purchasing agent after 18 years with the same company.
She's 72.
Hass and 400 others, most of them in their 60s and 70s, filtered through a crowded job fair checking out their options at a Thousand Oaks senior center on Wednesday.
They could earn $24 an hour working mornings and afternoons as a crossing guard for the city of Thousand Oaks. They could apply for work as a program aide for the Ventura County Human Services Agency or make $17 an hour caring for disabled people for a company called Comfort Keepers.
The job fair at the Goebel Adult Community Center was the first of its kind organized by the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging but likely won’t be the last. It was put together because older adults face a stacked deck when it comes to finding work, said Karen Gorback, chair of the agency’s advisory council that put the event together.
“Ageism is rampant in the labor market,” she said. “We need to change the narrative.”
Hass, of Thousand Oaks, is looking for a job that brings her in contact with people and keeps her brain engaged. She’s covered by Medicare but wants extra income to pay for her supplemental coverage. She worries about financial surprises that could be lurking around the corner.
“If I don’t find a job, I’ll be OK,” she said, “but it would really help me.”
Gorback said older adults are trying to return to the workforce in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2021 study from the Commonwealth Fund showed nearly 1 of 5 people 65 and older lost their primary source of income or depleted much of their savings in the public health emergency.
“Older adults, more than any other demographic, lost the most jobs during the pandemic, and that’s never been recovered,” Gorback said.
Alec Giffin, 60, of Santa Paula, is part of a program at the Area Agency on Aging that offers job skills training. He’s looking for work in part to ramp up his Social Security benefits. Others at the job fair said they were looking for jobs that will bring new responsibilities and purpose.
“I’m not very fulfilled, and I could use some extra money,” said Cathy Biggs, who is 73. “It would be nice to have some more disposable income.”
At least one person at the event wasn't convinced seniors are given a fair chance to compete. A retired 68-year-old engineer said he hasn’t been directly asked his age by prospective employers but has fielded leading questions that are age-related. He said companies want younger workers who have more contemporary skill sets and won’t expect as much money.
“Employers aren’t interested in older employees,” he said, declining to give his name.
Employers at the job fair included the Conejo Unified School District, the city of Thousand Oaks, Comfort Keepers, the county of Ventura, Villa Esperanza Services and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley. Others like the Workforce Development Board of Ventura County offers help to people looking for jobs.
Kimberly Mariscal, a human resources analyst for the county, said people shouldn’t worry about whether they have the technology skills needed for a job. That training happens at the work site.
“I feel like we value the knowledge people bring,” she said of older workers. “We’ve hired full-time people in their 70s. We’re just looking for the best fit.”
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks job fair attracts hundreds of older adults
