Have you noticed how many of the big national dailies seem to have discovered the older generation all of a sudden?

Papers like The Times, commenting on the purchasing power of the over-50 age group in relation to things such as cars (we are likely to be on our, what tenth car?) but the advertising is aimed mainly at men - younger men.

Even Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Employment was heard to say: "See the candidate, not their age," when talking to Employment 2000.

And now the Guardian, which ran a somewhat sexist and ageist article on, what it rather insultingly labelled, the 'Ku Klux Grans', has stared to print a Grandparents page.

Mind you, don't get too excited about it - it's only once a month but it does emphasise that 'Grandparents have become a social force to be reckoned with'. They may have come late to the feast but at least they do seem to be trying to pay homage to the older generation, even if it turns out to be merely lip service.

Gordon Brown must have been reading this column some months ago now when I wrote about the huge army of volunteers who keep the hospital trolleys, library carts and Meals on Wheels going.

He has suddenly woken up and is suggesting a new voluntary force, some 100,000 strong, to "give vital support to schools, hospitals and businesses". What planet has he been living on I wonder?

But what I do find intriguing is the rise of employment agencies for the older job seeker.

The Government started new Deal 50+ through the Job Centres for those who have been on benefits for at least six months but there are now a number of agencies specifically for an age group which, until very recently, was being told "You may be as brilliant as Einstein but you are too old".

There is one in Brighton called Wrinklies Direct, a franchised company whose name says it all.

They have found that in many cases, when a company hires a newly-qualified young person straight out of university, they go to all the expense of training them only to have them move on almost as soon as they are of some use to the company.

An older person is not so interested in career paths because they have done it all before. They tend to take less time off for domestic crisis (not to mention post-party hangovers) and have a good attitude to customers.

Then there is a company called The Forties People and another called Thirty Plus Recruitment, all of whom are interested in more mature people, though I must say, in my book, the thirty and forty somethings are mere teenagers!

Even the financial world has begun to unfreeze somewhat, as we hear that Nationwide has now an award for the spread of aged in their workforce.

If you've had a mortgage with all that entails, you are more likely to listen with sympathy to a struggling young couple and provide good advice.

Clearly, there are going to be many different reasons why the older person may be looking for a job, not least among them a financial one. But the desire to use a lifetime of experience, a need to feel useful and the urge to pass on skills comes into it too. With a coming shortage of young employees we cannot afford to squander a valuable resource.