A temporary employment agency for seniors is opening in Tournai.

It was a bit by chance, while scrolling through his Facebook feed, that Daniel Sauvage came across the ad. *"An agency targeting the 55+ bracket… I thought, why not?"* Retired for two years, Daniel is looking for a flexi-job. *"Because… retirement is great, you think you’ll be able to enjoy it. But there comes a time when, after having your morning coffee and read your newspaper, after fixing this and coloring that… you think: what am I going to do today? You feel like you’re no longer of much use."* That’s his main motivation: *"to put my acquired experience to good use."* A flexi-job also puts a little butter on the bread. *"We’re not going to hide it! At retirement age, you still earn a lot less. The cost of living is what it is. And if you want to keep going out to restaurants, going on vacation… you really have to limit your spending, or find a flexi-job…"* So Daniel signed up with Encore Plus, a brand-new temp agency based in Tournai. For Quentin Vallez, co-founder of the agency, the initiative was born from a simple observation: *"In our circle, older people or retirees had trouble finding jobs in traditional temp agencies. Often, they didn’t get any feedback. On the forms, they sometimes couldn’t even enter an age beyond retirement age."* The idea of specifically targeting an older audience made sense. And there are plenty of candidates: *"already over 1,200 registered on the website. About 30 to 40 new registrations every day."* What are the candidates’ profiles? *"We have all kinds! Quite a few self-employed people. We have teachers. People who have even been executives in companies, etc. The target is very broad, it covers a bit of the whole society,"* continues Quentin Vallez. Money is rarely "the primary goal," according to him. *"It’s mainly the desire to stay active, maintain a social life and age better, if I may put it that way."* At the Tournai agency, no one will deny it: prejudices about older workers remain a reality. *"It’s still and always the second most discriminatory reason, according to UNIA."* Daniel has noticed it: when he applies on other platforms, he gets little, if any, responses. *"Sometimes, yet my CV matches exactly what people are looking for. But the employer probably thinks, ‘This is someone aged 64, is it worth investing in this person? Will they still be here next year?’ There’s a barrier! And maybe I’d have the same reasoning if I were in the employer’s shoes! Yet, with all the experience we’ve gained, we really have qualities compared to younger people! We may no longer have the explosiveness, the speed of execution! But in terms of reliability, autonomy, resourcefulness, responsiveness… Without generalizing, I find that people of my generation are often solution-oriented!"* A prejudice "sticks to the skin" of senior workers. They are often perceived as uncomfortable with the internet, new technologies, and social networks. Daniel dismisses this again. *"Despite my 64 years, I’m very connected, comfortable with computers. If you ask me to make an Excel spreadsheet or use ChatGPT…"* To counter this stereotype, at least concerning *"his"* job candidates, the Tournai agency has decided to make digital skills almost a *"prerequisite."* *"Our process is 100% digital from the start. The first interview, for example, is completely online."* *"One of our goals is to fight against these preconceived ideas and highlight the strengths of our candidates,"* continues Quentin Vallez. *"They have a wealth of qualities that can still be useful in everyday life and for companies. We’re not just talking about work quality or skills, but also social aptitudes and skills that are still interesting. They know how a company’s life works, for example. They often manage conflicts better than junior profiles."* Their attitude towards working hours would also be different. *"Hours that are harder to fill, early morning shifts, hours during holiday periods, peak activity during vacations, public holidays… Some companies struggle to find candidates at these times. And that’s where we notice that pensioners have an advantage because they have more free time."* **Is the supply meeting the demand?** After just a month in operation, the agency reports *"a good dozen offers"* aimed at older candidates. *"We already have companies approaching us to find candidates for them because they are quite convinced by the concept. They want to give a chance to this pool of candidates that is currently untapped."* For his part, Daniel hasn’t received any offers yet. *"I’m waiting, without pressure. It’s not vital. And I won’t accept just anything either…"* he adds with a smile. *"I’m not looking in a specific field. I mainly wanted to say, ‘here I am, I’m available.’ And then, so to speak, pick and choose,"* concludes the man from Chièvres with a smile. *"We’ll see."*