An Essex firm has backed Prince Charle’s calls to give more job opportunities to people aged over 50.

The Prince of Wales, who is president of the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME), hosted a reception at St James’ Palace in London earlier this week to celebrate PRIME’s work in helping people over the age of 50, who are unemployed, out of work or facing the threat of redundancy to set up a business as a route back into sustained employment.

During the event the Prince spoke about the “lack of value” felt by many of the estimated 425,000 middle-aged men and women currently unemployed in Britain.

His views have been echoed by directors at Clacton-based domiciliary care company Primary Care, who believe the Prince’s comments are a reminder that employers should change their attitudes to older employees by actively seeking to employ them.

Natalie Emmerson, a director a Primary Care, said: “As employers we all have to respect and value ‘tomorrow’s pensioners’ today. They have a lifetime of experience and skills that can be used in the workplace and they often have an innate understanding of how to handle situations with a level of diplomacy that would be hard to teach. And they’re great team players too.”

Primary Care practises what it preaches. Of its 135 employees, almost half are over 50 years old and over 15% are more than 60.

Staff at Primary Care work across north Essex where they provide care for people in their homes. The company says its mix of older and younger people has created an energetic and productive environment where everyone is keen to learn from each other.

Ms Emmerson added: “Our customers like having people they can chat to about all kinds of subjects, and our older support workers are able to connect straight away with the older people we support and that’s important to us.

“The sooner we all start challenging the stereotypes and use the talent that’s in such plentiful supply, the better it will be for all businesses and the communities they serve.”

The company says it is actively looking for more support workers and would warmly welcome applicants from all age groups, including those over 50.

Contact Primary Care on 01255 224680 for details.