The Age of Internship 2.0 — Why Our Next Interns Could Have Grandkids

Having recently turned 60, I find myself reflecting on work, purpose, and the paradoxes of professional life. While I continue to enjoy consulting work in the HR and Psychometrics space and as a Fractional CHRO, I can’t help noticing how many experienced professionals reach the so-called retirement age right when their insight, perspective, and calm leadership are most needed.

This sparked an idea — a concept that is neither self-promotional nor nostalgic but aspirational: the notion of senior citizens returning to the workforce as apprentices or outturns.

Inspired by The Intern – and by Reality

The 2015 film The Intern, where Robert De Niro plays a 70-year-old intern to Anne Hathaway’s dynamic entrepreneur, raised an intriguing question back then: can experience and learning coexist seamlessly, regardless of age? Today, that question feels more relevant than ever.

In many ways, I now find myself living a version of that story — not hunting for an office cubicle or an Apple MacBook, but for opportunities to keep learning, contributing, and collaborating with bright, driven people. The real surprise? There are many “Bens” out there — seasoned professionals ready to re-engage with work in meaningful ways. What’s missing is a corporate framework to welcome them back.

                                              


                        

The Age Paradox

Through my interactions with many senior HR leaders and CEOs, I’ve often sensed an underlying age bias in corporate thinking. In my view, this perception is more psychological than practical — for many of us, age is merely a number, not a measure of productivity or potential. It’s intriguing that most global leaders, across politics, diplomacy, and public life, continue to shoulder significant responsibilities well beyond the conventional retirement age. Yet within corporate frameworks, we tend to draw rigid boundaries at 60, 62, or 65 — effectively sending home decades of wisdom as though experience has an expiry date.

Organizations talk of diversity and lifelong learning, but rarely extend that ethos to age diversity. If learning agility is the skill of the century, why exclude those who have mastered adaptability across entire careers?

Why Senior Apprentices Make Business Sense

  • Bridging experience and innovation. Senior apprentices bring institutional memory and judgment that, when paired with younger talent, foster balanced decision-making and innovation rooted in wisdom.

  • Strengthening organisational culture. Their presence can temper the volatility of fast-paced teams, reinforcing patience, empathy, and perspective.

  • Fostering two-way mentorship. The younger generation brings digital fluency and new-age thinking; senior professionals share foresight and emotional intelligence. The exchange benefits both.

  • Enhancing inclusion and corporate citizenship. Engaging active seniors underlines a company’s commitment to inclusivity beyond gender or ethnicity — to the diversity of life stages and experiences.

Practical Pathways for Implementation

  1. Create structured “Senior Apprenticeship” programs. Design short-term or project-based roles that allow senior professionals to contribute while learning emerging technologies or business models.

  2. Offer flexible engagement models. Hybrid schedules, part-time roles, or mentoring-linked assignments ensure sustained participation without burnout.

  3. Integrate reverse mentoring. Encourage teams to collaborate across age lines, turning learning into a two-way exchange rather than a one-way transfer.

  4. Celebrate contribution over chronology. Recognize and narrate success stories of senior “outturns” who drive real outcomes.

The Broader Impact

  • For seniors: Purpose, relevance, and community in their work lives.

  • For organizations: Access to reliable talent, mature judgment, and understated leadership capabilities.

  • For younger professionals: Daily opportunities to learn the soft power of wisdom — communication, restraint, diplomacy — lessons not taught in business school.



A Closing Reflection

Perhaps it’s time we move beyond the binary of career start and career end. The workplace of the future should not segregate by age but integrate by attitude and intent. Learning, after all, does not retire.

As I continue to explore this idea, I can’t help thinking of Ben and Jules again — not just as characters but as symbols of what work can be when generations learn with each other, not merely from each other.


#AgeIsJustANumber #WisdomAtWork #ExperienceMatters #FutureOfWork 

#DiversityAndInclusion #HRLeadership #TalentStrategy #LifelongLearning#WorkplaceCulture

#SecondInningsCareers #AgelessWorkforce #PurposeDrivenWork #ReimaginingRetirement
#IntergenerationalTeams

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