DESPITE impending legislation to outlaw age discrimination in the workplace, people of a certain age still find themselves being fobbed off by prospective employers.

One Bewdley-based businessman is attempting to redress the balance by matching older jobseekers to vacancies where their experience will outweigh the number of birthdays they have marked.

Peter Saunders, of Wrinklies Direct, launched the Worcestershire branch of the national organisation against a backdrop of people living longer and, in some cases, having to extend their working lives in the face of potential pension shortfalls.

Mr Saunders is an example of someone changing careers in later life. The 54-year-old had been in retail all his working life until earlier this year, when he embarked on his new venture.

He relocated to Bewdley from Kent, saying: "We moved here because my wife and I felt we wanted a better quality of life."

His brother, Mike, owns Wrinklies Direct and Mr Saunders was keen to run one of the regional franchises.

"As we were planning to move, I needed to do something for the next so many years," he said.

He went on: "We've got a database of people all around the country. Jobseekers contact us through our website or write to us with their CVs. We ask them to register with us.

"The majority of people who register with us are 50-plus but we do have quite a few in their 40s and some in their 70s.

"We hold their details on our database and we will look on that to match the people to the most suitable jobs."

That is not always as simple as it sounds, as potential employers can be slow to grasp the initiative. "The problem is that employers are the ones who should be coming forward to seek and take on mature, experienced people," said Mr Saunders.

"There's enough people around the country but the employers are few and far between.

"Of course, legislation coming in the year after next will force them into a different way of thinking, so they may as well start now."

The Wrinklies Direct website address is: www.wrinklies.org and Mr Saunders can be contacted on 01299 409030.