Home featured Editor's Choice Featured HR Editor's Choice Mature age workers: the talent pool that will help boost your business’s bottom line James Harkness June 22, 2017 Just as Australia’s population is ageing, so too is the nation’s workforce, with an increasing number of workers seeking to remain in employment longer. According to Susan Ryan, who was Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner up until 2016, this is a huge opportunity for employers. ‘Good business sense’ Tapping into this growing talent pool, Ryan explained in a blog post , is the key to not just maintaining but unleashing the nation’s productive capacity. She pointed to research indicating the huge economic benefits that would flow if an increasing number of mature age workers were employed. For instance, a 2012 report by Deloitte Access Economics found that a 3% increase in labour force participation among workers aged 55 and over would boost GDP by $33 billion – the equivalent of 1.6% of the national income. Further, a 5% increase in participation for the group would increase GDP by around $48 billion – the equivalent of 2.4% of national income. As well as being good for the economy, Ryan said it makes good business sense for employers to engage and retain mature age workers because they are “reliable, flexible and ready to contribute from day one”. Plus, she explained, employers with mature age workers are better able to capitalise on customer bases that are also ageing. This is in line with a 2014 whitepaper released