In 12 months, 63-year-old Sydney woman Trish Sara unsuccessfully applied for 200 jobs.

Key points: Despite returning to university in her late 50s, Trish Sara says she struggled to re-enter the workforce

Despite returning to university in her late 50s, Trish Sara says she struggled to re-enter the workforce Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says older Australians should upskill to ease the burden of an ageing population on the economy

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says older Australians should upskill to ease the burden of an ageing population on the economy Trish Sara says it is not that simple, and more needs to be done to combat age discrimination

"It felt terrible," Ms Sara said.

"I'd just earned a bachelor's degree and previous to that I'd had a long career including three businesses, so it really started to get me down."

The newly graduated counsellor had worked in PR, retail, and interior design.

Despite following Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's request and gaining skills later in life, Ms Sara said finding a job as an older Australian was hard.

"I feel quite cross when I hear people in government saying we're allowing and encouraging people to work older … Well, it's hard getting a job," Ms Sara said.

"It's alright to say that sort of stuff, but the reality is quite different."

Earlier this week Treasurer Josh Frydenberg signalled a push to get people over 60 to work longer by gaining new skills, in a bid to ease the pressure of Australia's ageing population on the economy.

Mr Frydenberg told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia that Australians working currently undertook 80 per cent of their training before they turned 21.

"This will have to change if we want to continue to see more Australians stay engaged in work for longer," he said.

Ms Sara believes ageism prevented her from landing a job. ( ABC News: Harriet Tatham )

But responding to the Treasurer's request, Ms Sara said even with a degree gaining work was difficult.

"I found out I had breast cancer last year but, throughout that, I still applied for jobs," she said.

"I did a workshop on how to get a job.

"I'd rewrite my resume every time I applied for a job.

"I think partly it was because I've had three jobs … and I guess I didn't fit any specific job criteria, but ageism certainly came into it."

Frustrated by her constant efforts to find work, Ms Sara rang in to ABC Radio Sydney's Breakfast program to talk about her employment situation.

In a stroke of luck, Maria Commisso, who runs a program aimed at helping children with learning difficulties, was listening.

She had been searching for an employee with counselling and media skills and got in touch with Ms Sara to offer her a job.

While Ms Commisso admitted her hiring process was unconventional, she encouraged more employers to look at hiring older staff.

"I'm the same age as Trish and I only just started up this business last year," Ms Commisso said.

"Everyone was saying, 'You're crazy, you're ready to retire, why are you doing this?' But I wasn't ready to retire.

"I think employers should be open to the possibility and also understand that the years that people have been working have brought with them a wealth of experience."