McDonald’s gets help from AARP to hire more older workers

McDonald’s is enlisting the aid of AARP to help older Americans join the fast food giant’s workforce, according to CNBC.

About 11 percent of workers at the chain’s company-owned locations are at least 50 years old currently, compared to about 40 percent who are teens, according to CNBC. But younger workers, often students, are increasingly unavailable to work hours during the breakfast and lunch rush. That has the company seeking older adults as it looks to hire 250,000 workers this summer, according to the news outlet.

{mosads}Under the partnership, all U.S. job postings for McDonald’s will be posted to AARP’s job board, while the company and the AARP Foundation are also piloting a five-state program to connect older job-seekers with McDonald’s-owned locations and franchisees who wish to participate, according to CNBC.

Melissa Kersey, McDonald’s U.S. chief people officer, told CNBC workers 55 and older are in demand because they bring a “unique skillset,” such as experience staying calm under pressure and dealing with difficult customers. They also enable two-way mentoring between older and younger workers.

The number of adults 55 and older employed by restaurants has increased by 70 percent since 2007, which economists say is due to longer lifespans resulting in increased health care costs and the need to stretch retirement savings, according to CNBC.