A 49-year-old IT professional has set up a support group to combat ageism in the industry.

Tony Wells, who has almost 30 years’ experience in IT, has claimed that recruiters discriminate against candidates who are aged over 45.

Wells set up the group after a letter he wrote to trade magazine Computer Weekly last year prompted letters of support from other mature IT workers who were in a similar predicament.

Wells had sent his CV out to a number of agencies but received little or no response. But when one member falsified his CV with a lower age, he found that agencies responded. “Members of the group are concerned about the lack of responses from recruitment agencies as they are the main gateway to jobs,” Wells told Recruiter.

“Most IT recruitment agencies search for skills on CVs rather than help the employer find the right person. Age becomes a problem because there is an unfounded perception that people over 45 do not have the same up-to-date skills as younger people.”

But IT agencies and their clients could fall foul of anti-ageism legislation to be introduced in 2006, said the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo).

“The IT industry is going to have to work hard on getting greater age diversity into its workforce and recruiters will play a crucial role in achieving this. Otherwise the industry could leave itself wide open to claims,” said Ann Swain, ATSCo’s chief executive.