Employability for the over-50s
Launched in 2017 ReStart targets over-50s who have been unemployed for between six months and a year.
Through a mix of online and face to face workshops in our London office, mentoring by A&O volunteers and one to one coaching by accredited coaches from the Executive Coaching Consultancy, participants are supported to rediscover strengths and to build the knowledge, skills and confidence to help them get back into work.
ReStart supports people from any background or profession, particularly those who have a fresh outlook on their future employment and would consider changing roles or industries.
‘The Missing Million’ – why focus on older generations?
According to the Centre for Ageing Better, one in three workers in the UK are now aged 50 or over. It is also estimated that half of all UK adults will be 50 years old or older by 2035.
With an aging population, long-term unemployment in the over-50s age group is an issue of growing concern in the UK for the impact it will have on individuals and their families. This barrier to employment is most difficult for those individuals aged over-50 who are from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds.
Workplace diversity
The difficulty for those over the age of 50 to get back into work after a period of long-term unemployment is a significant barrier to social mobility. Being in good quality work is essential an individual’s financial security, well-being and health. It is important to have a productive and engaged workforce for the economy – this has a positive impact on GDP and the state in increased tax revenues and a reduced or delayed demand for public services link.
ReStart is a skills development and mentoring programme which helps minimise the impact long-term unemployment has on individuals and their families.*
ReStart extends A&O's long-running social mobility work with Smart Start and PRIME and complements our wider workplace diversity programmes.
ReStart is an annual programme and the application window to participate in ReStart 2022 is open until 11 February 2022.
Please take a moment to read our privacy policy.
*Please note that ReStart is not an apprenticeship nor a guarantee of employment.
Past participants opinions
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100%said they would recommend the programme to someone in their situation
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100%said that they had seen improvement in their career readiness
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95%recognised an improvement in job-seeking skillset
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95%reported improvement in their mindset and momentum
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63%believed it unlikely they would find work without taking part in ReStart
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80%agreed that the coaching/mentoring was useful to their development
Our ReStart Experience


a short account by past participant Martin
ReStart helped me re-evaluate what was important to me
Meeting people that are in the same position as me helped release the pressure I had put on myself because I realised it’s not just me in this situation. Before I joined ReStart I thought I was quite near to where I needed to be in terms of how I was approaching my career and that I would only be tweaking a few things, but as it turns out, there were a lot of things for me to really think about.
I needed to go back first, rather than looking forward. For example, what is important to you? What motivates you? What do you feel your strengths are? Then moving onto improving your CV; that was quite impressive My CV completely changed once we started going through it. I thought it was quite good but no, clearly it wasn’t!” After the programme, I did get a job and whilst it is a bit different to what I was looking for it’s in the shipping business where I have spent the last 30 years and is an interesting role. I would thoroughly recommend ReStart for anyone who is in the same position I was six months ago. It’s definitely worth doing.”
a short account from past participant Barbara
How ReStart helped to kickstart my career again
Barbara embarked on the A&O ReStart Programme in 2020 to help her to refocus her professional goals and remove personal barriers that were impacting her future. Speaking of her experience Barbara said “I will be forever grateful to the wider team for allowing me the opportunity to learn, refocus and remove barriers that were impacting my future."
Impact and feedback