Industry shuns over-50s

Ageism may be aggravating the IT skills shortage. A survey of 100 of the UK's biggest companies, carried out on behalf of Connect Support Services, found that only 1 per cent of application software developers and only 4 per cent of IT management are over 50. The proposition that "older, more experienced IT professionals are better equipped for today's rapidly changing IT environment than younger ones" was rejected by 81 per cent of the respondents, who were personnel managers or individuals responsible for hiring IT staff.