In our previous editorial, we discussed the Midlife MOT and its potential challenges. The Midlife MOT was launched into the DWP’s job centre process to help older workers assess their skills and provide guidance for financial planning. The idea was that the MOT would increase confidence which would encourage those over 50 to find their way back into the job market. It faces many challenges including its core as a window-dressed solution to the lack of Over 50s in the workplace – due to its lack of support in finding employment and its ambiguity regarding the assessment of workers’ skills.

For its 75th Anniversary, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) released a report focusing on age in the workplace. The data within suggests a new challenge: people do not know about the Midlife MOT. A poll showed that 85% of those questioned were unaware of the MOT. Of those who were aware, only 19% had been offered one by their line manager.

“people do not automatically think of tools like the Midlife MOT when considering their pension”

The Midlife MOT cannot be effective if people are not aware of it and not utilising it. Therefore, this means that they are window-dressing a window that no one is looking into. Whilst we have examined the other challenges of the MOT, this potentially could be the biggest problem. We have previously discussed that whilst the entirety of the MOT does not do what it suggests, there are still some important benefits it has to offer such as increased confidence in personal wealth. If people are unaware of the policy and what they can take from it, then the policy will struggle to be successful.

This is not due to a lack of trying. There are DWP adverts online trying to encourage older generations to think about their position in the workplace. On clicking these, it takes you to the government website which focuses on the services they offer and other solutions. The Midlife MOT is included but is surrounded by other advice which doesn’t inspire people to delve deeper and does not create a statement out of the MOT. If the government has such a specialised tool to help those Over 50, why not promote it more and ensure that people are aware of the benefits it is said to offer?

However, these online adverts face another challenge which is advertising algorithms. As our data is now tracked on the web, this means that it is likely the Ads are seen by people who are actively looking into the DWP or pensions. Whilst this means that the MOT is more likely to reach those that need it, it limits the audience of these Ads and reduces the number of people actively taking part. Adding onto this, people do not automatically think of tools like the Midlife MOT when considering their pensions, instead, they focus on private firms.

It is important to note that the government’s Midlife MOT is a relatively new policy with those created by private companies, having been around since 2018. As mentioned in previous articles, we do not believe that the MOT provides adequate support in finding careers. This means that it’s understandable that maybe there is less knowledge about the policy because it does not match the objectives of those utilising it. It is still in the process of gaining traction and recognition. But it could be argued that there could be a more agile push in the campaigns to help the MOT reach its full potential. The questions to ask are: What could the government do to push the Midlife MOT to more workers? What other factors cause knowledge about the MOT to be so sparse?

Sonya Knight | ADF Comms Team

Read the previous article here

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