78-Year-Old Grandfather Is Australia’s Oldest Intern

Australian resident Ken Holmes created history by changing career path and becoming the country’s oldest intern at the age of 78.

The grandfather of two, Holmes has joined the workforce in the administration department of Mercy Place Aged Care facility in Parkville, Victoria. Holmes said that he was getting bored post-retirement. Prior to this, he worked as a surgical and scientific toolmaker at Melbourne University for 30 years, before switching to personal care for 10 years. He then took voluntary retirement in order to look after his ailing wife. But now that his wife is no more, he felt the need for a new purpose in his life.

Speaking on his bold choice of shifting to a new career at this age, he said, "I’m doing this course for myself. I'm tired of talking to my dogs and cats who don’t talk back." He further added, “My favorite part of the job is working with older people and if I behave myself I just might get a bed here."

Although Holmes is flying high after getting employed again, he has still not told his children about this decision and has wished for them to know about this in newspapers. Reasoning this decision, he said that his kids would complain that he “should be looking for a bed in a nursing home, not working in one.”

At a time when most adults would look for a retirement home, Holmes’s decision to work till his last breath, is truly inspirational and motivational and speaks volumes about his willpower.