"Empty nesters," parents whose children have left the family home or have started their own careers, and anyone looking for a new career challenge later in life, are among those being encouraged to apply in easyJet's cabin crew recruitment campaign.
The airline has seen a 27 percent increase in cabin crew over the age of 45 since 2018, including a 30 percent increase in those over 60 in the last year.
The campaign comes following recent research by easyJet which revealed that, in a survey of 2,000 British adults over 45, over three quarters (78 percent) said that they would like to take on a new challenge once their children have flown the nest. Over half said (58 percent) they were most excited about starting a new career.
Over half (57 percent) of respondents also said that now their children are not dependent on them anymore, they hope to find a new career in something they are truly passionate about.
The new recruitment campaign has been launched with a series of new ads featuring real life cabin crew who joined easyJet in the past year including Mike Tear, 57; Gary Fellowes, 63; and Carlos Santa Monica, 48.
easyJet is encouraging even more to apply, with their wealth of life experience and transferable skills, such as customer service and people management, making many ideal candidates for the job.
Latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that there are over 9 million 50+ workers now on payrolls, an increase of more than 210,000 since last year.
The survey also revealed that many "empty nesters" are now turning to their children as motivation for seeking out a new vocation, with over two-thirds (67 percent) feeling inspired by their children’s career success and growth.
One-fifth (20 percent) of parents even said they would love to work in the same company as their children to spend more time with them.
Over six in 10 (63 percent) of those surveyed said that a career that allowed them to travel would be most desirable, with almost three quarters (70 percent) saying that travelling more is the one thing they have always wanted to do.
The research also revealed the top 10 most desirable new career choices for the over 45s. Charity work and volunteering topped the list, followed closely by being a paramedic, with cabin crew and teacher also in the top five.
Top 10 New Career Choices for parents over 45:
- Charity worker/volunteer (39%)
- Paramedic (29%)
- Teacher (28%)
- Librarian (27%)
- Airline cabin crew (26%)
- Tradesperson e.g.: carpenter or electrician (24%)
- Civil service (22%)
- Chef (18%)
- Receptionist (16%)
- Driving instructor (14%)
Michael Brown, director of Cabin Services for easyJet, commented: “At easyJet, our people are at the heart of everything we do and it’s the warm welcome and excellent customer service that our cabin crew are famous for. All our brilliant crew who are part of our new campaign are a great example of how being cabin crew is a fantastic job no matter what your age and so we want to encourage even more people like them to join us.
“If you’ve got a passion for travel and people and want a job that’s different every day, then we can’t wait to welcome you on board as part of the team.”
