IT is a sign of things to come, and also how we can create employment in an age when the population is growing older.

Today’s Daily Echo news that care company Carewatch is seeking to employ a further 100 people, this time in Chandler’s Ford, is good news on many fronts.

In the first place there is always a need for jobs, and this is an area where there is no age barrier. Young people looking for their first step in employment can set out on a career that could be as rewarding emotionally as financially.

The news also underscores the need to provide care in our communities. This is something that will not reduce in coming years but grow substantially as the UK’s population grows ever older. We will need to find ever more imaginative ways to provide this care and companies moving into this sector, provided they offer truly first rate services and pay decent wages, should be welcomed.

Finally there is the question of whether the elderly wish to receive care in their own homes, or in serviced properties. What is most important is to be able as a society to give people a choice. The future is grey, but that shouldn’t worry us.