Jobless IT project manager opens a garage pizzeria

A 63-year-old former IT project manager has started baking pizzas after struggling to find work in the ICT sector, SRF reports. Karl Moser has been unemployed for a year and a half and stopped receiving unemployment benefits five months ago.

Moser runs a one-man pizzeria from a garage in Murten’s industrial area, making the dough and sauce, taking orders, baking pizzas and delivering them. He says he set up the business because he was “too fit” to sit around waiting for the days to pass. He had sold pizzas at a bar in southern Spain 30 years ago, but says business in Murten has not yet met his expectations.

Despite applying widely for IT jobs, Moser says he has received few responses. He believes age is a barrier, and says a human resources manager told him her company no longer invited applicants aged 55 and over to interviews. The loss of his income has also forced his family to adjust its spending.

Older workers face particular difficulties returning to work in ICT, says Caro Gigghi of the Syndicom trade union. Knowledge in the sector becomes outdated quickly, a trend she says has accelerated with artificial intelligence. The ICT unemployment rate is now above the Swiss average, though some job profiles are disappearing while new ones emerge. Syndicom is calling on companies to retrain workers and cover the cost.

Urs Gurtner of the Swiss-ICT industry association says workers and employers share responsibility for keeping skills current. He says people often learn to use artificial intelligence through daily work and exchanging knowledge with colleagues, rather than mainly through courses. The sector has also shifted towards agile teams, where communication skills are increasingly important.

Moser says he would rather return to IT project management and believes older workers still have a lot to contribute if given the chance. He says giving up is not an option, though he fears the industry’s changing attitudes may come too late for him.