New Road to Retirement To Solve Critical Social Issues

Australia needs to find a way to help its mature workforce transition to a second or encore career and, at the same time, build the capacity of the Not for Profit sector, according to the former CEO of Australian Not for Profit, Connecting Up, Doug Jacquier.

 “Australia has an abundance of mature experience and knowledge in its workforce and Australia’s Not for Profits and charities increasingly need high level skills to grow their capability to address pressing social needs,” he said.

Jacquier says he is exploring interest in establishing Encore Fellowship programs in Australian cities and communities.

“Half the children born since 2000 in the developed world are expected to see their 100th birthday. There are over three million Australians above the age of 65 now and that will double by 2050. These facts are forcing all of us to re-think what ‘retirement’ means.

“Many Australians either can’t afford to, or don’t want to, hit the golf course or the grey nomad trail. They are in the midst of inventing a new stage of life and work between the end of midlife and anything resembling old-fashioned retirement,” Jacquier said.

“This is a time when they make some of their most important contributions, for themselves, for their communities, and for the well-being of future generations.”

Jacquier says the founder of US Not for Profit, Encore.org, Marc Freedman, will be visiting Australia in June to talk about this ‘encore careers’ phenomenon and its potential for Australia.

Freedman is the author of The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife , in which he says: “This amounts to nothing less than changing the pattern of lives, and with it the nature and possibilities of every stage along the way. It’s time for a shift – a shift in thinking and in culture, in social institutions and public policies, a shift from what worked in the past to what can carry us into the future.”

Jacquier says a key initiative of Encore.org is the Encore Fellowships program. 

“Encore Fellowships are designed to deliver new sources of talent to organisations solving critical social problems. These paid, time-limited fellowships match skilled, experienced professionals at the end of their mid-life careers with charities and Not for Profit organisations.

“During the Fellowship period (typically six to 12 months, half to full time), the Fellows take on roles that bring significant, sustained impact to the charities that host them. While they are working, the Fellows earn a stipend, learn about work in the charitable sector, and develop a new network of contacts and resources for the future.”

For more information contact Doug Jacquier at dougj147@gmail.com or visit the Encore Fellowships program.