Gateshead council is urgently addressing its ageing workforce with warnings that the authority's tree surgeons are 'too old to go up trees'.
A report shown to councillors states 29% (1,494 employees) of the local authority’s staff are aged 55-64, whereas only 12% (614) of staff are aged 25-34. A mere five per cent are aged between 16-24 (242).
This is particularly evident in the environment and fleet, property and assets, and integrated social care departments.
