Age

This legal protection means you shouldn’t have to worry if you are entering the employment market when you’re above the age of the average graduate.

Support at Aston

Aston has a range of support and advice for mature students.

Listening Ear is a pastoral support drop-in service based on campus. It offers the following support for students, regardless of religious affiliation: confidential, non-judgemental listening; help in times of distress; signposting to specialist sources of help (including faith contacts if you wish).

There are a variety of mentoring schemes available at Aston which are designed to enable students, alumni and professionals alike to have the opportunity to support the Aston student community, develop skills, expand networks and share experiences. You will have the opportunity to engage in mentoring activities at every stage of your learning journey.

Useful resources

The following organisations and resources can offer further support and advice:

Equality and Human Rights Commission: age discrimination - Find out more about the Equality Act and what it says about age discrimination.

TARGETjobs: equality and diversity issues, and your graduate job hunt - You can find advice on a range of key equality and diversity issues in this article. They look at your rights during the recruitment process, disclosing information to your employers and more. 

Age Action Alliance - A partnership of organisations that have committed to working together to improve older people’s lives – you can browse the members’ list to see which organisations support older workers.

Age UK - A charity that supports older people. They have information about discrimination and your rights on their web pages. You can also get in touch with them for free, confidential advice.

Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers - This is a definitive list of UK-based organisations that promote inclusion across all protected characteristics, throughout each level of employment within their organisation.

Totaljobs Guides - If you’ve got questions about work equality, take a look at these expert guides from Totaljobs which cover topics such as how to ask for a pay rise, gender transitioning in the workplace, what it’s like to be deaf in the workplace and more.

VERCIDA - The UK’s largest diversity and inclusion-focused career hub for recruiters and jobseekers. As well as promoting jobs with inclusive employers, they provide resources for a range of applicants including, those with disabilities, those aged over 50, LGBTQ+ applicants, religious applicants and more.