The Importance of ‘Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks’: Training and Learning Opportunities for Older Workers

Abstract

This collection and its contributions have, in large part, been motivated by the changing age profile of those who live and work in the developed world. Populations in these parts of the world are ageing fast (see Chapter 2). For example, in 2007 less than fifth of the European population was aged 65 and over, but by 2032 this age group is predicted to increase to around a quarter (Dunnell 2008; Lutz 2008). In the absence of any other change, this means that the average age of those in employment will rise. The average age of workers will grow even faster if government plans to raise the retirement age and keep workers in employment for longer are successful. Such trends pose training and development issues for managers, who will be facing the future with an ever ‘greying’ workforce whose experience of formal education is a distant memory. For example, it is estimated that 70 per cent of the UK’s 2020 workforce have already left school, college or university (HM Treasury 2006, p. 1).