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Companies are taking a more lateral attitude to staff hiring - they will look at job-share or part-time arrangements; whatever works. They have to, in order to tap into a latent skilled workforce who need a bit of encouragement before they will take the leap back into employment. Typically they might be women who have been raising children, or older men who have been made redundant and want a change of career.
Whatever the reason, thanks to their lack of familiarity with the current job market, many lack confidence, not helped by the fact that fast-moving technology makes them feel as though they don't speak the language any more.
Once they get over the fear of technology and become comfortable with the new work lingo, they often blossom and can play key roles in companies.
So open-minded are employers at the moment that Kinetic Recruitment's Kate Ross and PR consultant Sarah Paykel have set up a company to equip people with the skills to return to the workplace, then act as matchmaker for them after the course.
"At return2work, we recognise there is a large pool of talent that is not currently employed and therefore under-utilised," says Ross. "If you had a career in the past that you have put on hold to pursue other goals or raise a family, there is good news. Now you can have both."
Return2work is offering a one-week part-time programme to help equip people with the skills and know-how to help them back into jobs of their choice.
Personality profiling, job market information and computer skills assessment will be provided, as well as individual coaching to work out whether participants want to revive a previous career or pursue a new one. Priced at $1200, the course will also offer psychometric testing, and guidance on salary expectations.
"It is very difficult for candidates to market themselves if they don't know what they are doing," says Ross. Many stay-at-home mothers are good at putting obstacles in their way, she adds.
They worry about the cost of going back to work, how they will handle school holidays. Even if they are doing just one day a week, it's a start, says Ross.
"Most people can learn anything. The fact that they were a nurse and now want to work in administration - they are very transferable skills, we can up-skill them. It's about making them feel it's do-able."
In the last 12 to 18 months, Ross says she has seen a turnaround in employers' attitudes. They will look at job shares, and at people who are not in the workforce but who have desirable organisational skills.
The recruitment consultant advises employers to treat part-time or more flexible workers as full-time staff. That way, they will feel more a part of the company.
A crucial part of keeping new staff is their initial integration into the workforce, says Jude Manuel, business development director at career transition specialists DBM.
Employers will need to provide professional growth and development/training; ensure internal communication is open and transparent and provide regular, constructive feedback. They should provide mentoring and actively encourage work/life balance. Managers should also nurture social interaction, allowing life experience to mingle with formal qualifications within teams, says Manuel.
At DB Breweries, as well as the usual thorough induction process, the company also has extra support for new workers.
"We have personal development plans that are put in place a month or so after you start," says spokeswoman Hailey Bloore.
"This is where the individual works with their manager to identify where they may need development. That can be skill-based development or core competency development that both the manager and the individual identify.
"We have a network of internal coaches who can work with their peers across the business to offer additional support and coaching in specific areas."
Real estate agency Barfoot & Thompson employs many men and women on their second or third career. The average age of an agent is 52, says Teresa Reynolds, the company's training manager.
Reynolds says there are things companies can do to help their newbies.
She recommends a weekly meeting with their new member of staff, and to make sure that they go out into the coalface with them. Getting the new person to spend time with a top performer so that they can learn out in the field is another good idea, she says.
Mothers returning to work have many attributes, says Reynolds.
"They have very good discipline because they've had to organise the kids and families. They have a great network of people - they know people whether they realise it or not - and they are very patient. They also have great empathy."
Men who become real estate agents later in life have often been small business owners. They often do well because they understand the process, says Reynolds.
For the really successful ones, says Reynolds, they have made up their mind that they will be successful in real estate and it becomes a self-fulfilling belief.
A certain hunger helps. Reynolds remembers a real estate agent who had worked in the meat industry. He was making $1 million a year as an agent.
When she remarked on what a hard worker he was, he said: "I don't want to go back to the freezing works."
Gill South is a freelance business writer based in Auckland
