At a Brooks Brothers factory in Queens, workers manufacture more than 1.5 million neckties each year.
While the clothing retailer’s neckwear is conventional, the factory’s workforce isn’t: Of 222 employees, 52% are 55 years old or older.
“The skills [these] people bring to the table are very difficult to find,” said Luis Nava, the factory’s director of operations. “We find that a lot of younger people aren’t interested in learning the craft.”
The Brooks Brothers factory is one of 11 New York City businesses on a shortlist for the Age Smart Employer Awards, a project of the Columbia Aging Center, located at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The center plans to announce winners on Wednesday.