Older people suffer discrimination in the labour market, in that their chances of finding employment if they lose their jobs are small, and the longer someone is out of the labour market, the harder it is to return. Although they often do possess the technical and transferrable skills required, these are not always recognised. Those who remain in…

Workers are remaining in the labor force at older ages; and, despite their desire to work, those without jobs face unprecedented durations of unemployment. Many of the unemployed lack current skills for jobs in demand and need to either upgrade their skills or be trained for a new occupation to become re-employed. An aging workforce combined with…

Having enjoyed teaching during my active career, I continued to teach summer school following retirement. Self-observed sensory and cognitive impairments, although not mentioned by students in their evaluations, induced me to consider the pros and cons of continuing to teach. My hope is that this list of benefits and problems will be of assistance…

This study adopted self-identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) to examine the role of affective and cognitive identification and the perception of aging with regard to Chinese employees' successful aging in the workplace. A total of 242 Chinese workers in Hong Kong aged 45 and above were recruited. Results showed that cognitive…

Today's society, shaped by demographic changes and a global economy, has created different employment trends and work lives that result in adults' engaging in postretirement second careers. This phenomenon is a common occurrence in rapidly aging societies like Korea. This qualitative study examined the postretirement career transition…

Fewer than half of all Americans will be financially ready to retire at age 65, according to a recent Boston College study. Two coinciding needs, purpose and a paycheck, are driving a huge surge of interest in meaningful "encore careers"--paid second acts in areas such as education, human services, the environment, and fighting poverty.…

Despite still widespread unemployment in Europe, there is a growing shortage of labour, due to the ageing of the population and discrimination against old people both in and out of employment. Following the long history of human rights legislation, such discrimination is now outlawed but many third-agers have become discouraged or do not know how…

Purpose: The study examined the barriers faced, the goals selected, and the optimization and compensation strategies of older workers in relation to career change. Method: Thirty open-ended interviews, 12 in the United States and 18 in New Zealand, were conducted, recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for themes. Results: Barriers to…

The stimulation of lifelong employability of employees is one of today's challenges in all sectors of the Dutch society. In this article, we will outline the historical context of the life-long employability issue in the Netherlands, and provide an overview of current business responses to the issue. We will discuss key obstacles for improving…

Bobby Curran grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Baltimore, finished high school, and followed his grandfather's steel-toed bootprints straight to Sparrows Point, a 3,000-acre sprawl of industry on the Chesapeake Bay. College was not part of the plan. A gritty but well-paying job at the RG Steel plant was Mr. Curran's ticket to a secure…

This paper reports on the results of an online survey that asked Manitoba employers about the employment of older workers. The survey attempted to gain insight into benefits of and challenges to engaging older workers; strategies to recruit, retain, and engage older workers; and the role of education and training for older workers. This research…

In order to better understand the precursors of bridge employment, this study aimed to investigate whether individual action strategies in terms of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC; Baltes & Baltes, 1990) are able to buffer the well-known negative impact of poor health on the intention to remain in the workforce. 784 employees (60-85…

Is there an optimum age to be an apprentice? For most people, their image of an apprentice would be a teenage school leaver. Yet, in England, the majority of apprentices are over the age of 19 when they start their apprenticeship, and 40 per cent are 25 or over. This would be very unusual in other European countries. In this article, the authors…

Encouraging older workers to stay in the workforce has become a policy priority, not least because the life expectancy of Australians has increased dramatically over the past several decades, effectively inserting a new stage in life, often called the "third age." This report explores the possibility of using that third age to embark on an…

"Research messages 2011" is a collection of summaries of research projects published by National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2011. The publication also has an overview essay that captures the themes and highlights from the research for the year, including: (1) the initial education and training of young people and their…