The Extending Working Life Agenda in the UK: Training and Development

1. Sarah Vickerstaff Chris Phillipson and Wendy Loretto Training and Development: the Missing Part of the Extending Working Life (EWL) Agenda?

2. The last decade in the UK • Unprecedented policy reform and development across a number of spheres which impacts upon extending working lives issues for example: equalities legislation; abolition of the default retirement age; right to request flexible employment extended to all employees. • Until recently no real attempt to coordinate policies or think about EWL in a joined up way. • UK Government appointed a Business Champion for older workers to shift the culture towards acceptance of extended or ‘fuller’ working lives. • The first report of the Business Champion called for a National Strategy for Skills and Adult learning to include: • Financial support for part-time study and student loans at any age • Midlife career reviews • Funding for mature apprentices • Tax breaks for employer-funded training for older workers.

3. On the ground • Prospects for such a strategy to work are not promising, we look at 3 aspects: • The employment context for older workers. • The current state of training and development initiatives. • The agenda for supporting older workers that is needed.

4. The employment context for older workers in the UK • Employment rate for 50-64 year olds has risen from 62% to 67% between 2001-1013. • More remarkable the doubling of those over 65 working: reaching 10% by 2014. • This increase mainly comprised of those in long-term employment of long term self-employment; that is retention rather than recruitment. • The proportion of those over 50 working part-time has declined over the last decade.

5. Training and career development of older workers • Workplace Employment Relations Study 2011 Number of days’ training received in previous year

6. Less training for older workers • Regression analysis showed that the lower incidence of training among those aged 50 and above cannot entirely be accounted for either by the roles they occupy or the length of time in the job. • The evidence is for a decline in training affecting all occupational groups. • However, older workers in low-skilled occupations are the least likely to receive training. • Part-timers and self employed also receive less training than the full-time employed.

7. Percentage of people reporting doing some learning* by age group (UK) (1997-2010) Source: NALS 1997-2010. * formal, non-formal and informal learning

8. Proportion reporting taking part in formal education or training in the last 12 months (50 plus) Source: ELSA w1-w5

9. Policy challenges in workforce development for older workers • Many current ideas are about ‘plugging skills gaps’ rather than a broader view of lifelong learning and development and the need for later life career management. • Older workers are less likely to have informal conversations with their manager about their job or formal performance appraisals than prime age workers.

10. Challenging the narrow approach • Requires action in at least three areas: • Rethinking the type of training which older workers receive • Widening opportunities for the unemployed, self-employed and those working part-time • Identifying a more prominent role for colleges and universities

11. Rethinking the type of training which older workers receive • Evidence that employers or line managers discourage older workers from training, but • Older workers themselves may rule themselves out. • There is little robust evidence on whether older workers need different approaches to training and development, but some studies suggest small amounts of training can reverse cognitive decline and assist retention of new skills. • With a more age diverse workforce attention needs to be given to new ways of delivering work-based training.

12. Widening opportunities for the unemployed, self-employed and those working part-time • Since the financial crisis of 2008 training for the unemployed has focused on preparing young people for the labour market. • Greater exploitation of e-learning and computer assisted training might be useful for the part time or self employed worker. • Specific obligations on employers to expand training as a precondition for creating nonstandard forms of employment. • Make further training a legal entitlement for those changing careers or moving into bridge employment.

13. Identifying a more prominent role for colleges and universities • The number of baby boomers wishing to take advantage of further and higher education opportunities are likely to increase. • Colleges could experiment with new types of career development courses aimed at those in midlife. • There is a role for researchers to test new types of training for a more diverse workforce. • Colleges could develop courses aimed at those who have experiences educational disadvantage throughout their lives.

14. Conclusion • There is a wealth of evidence to demonstrate that training and development opportunities for older workers are more limited than for younger workers. • Policy on training and development at organisational and state levels is currently failing to take the implications of an ageing workforce into consideration. • There is no shortage of good ideas about how training and development could support extending working lives • There is little evidence of an appetite for major reform.