Does learning help? Learning for work and life after 50 Stephen - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Does learning help? Learning for work and life after 50 Stephen - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Nov 03, 2022 581 likes •874 views

Does learning help? Learning for work and life after 50 Stephen McNair Director CROW Senior Research Fellow - NIACE Centre for Research into the Older Workforce The Learning and Work in Later Life project What is the impact of

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Does learning help? Learning for work and life after 50

Stephen McNair Director – CROW Senior Research Fellow - NIACE

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

The Learning and Work in Later Life project

  • What is the impact of learning on employment in later

life?

  • Project funded by Nuffield Foundation
  • Planned by CROW at Surrey University
  • Delivered by CROW at NIACE
  • Changed methodology
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Participants

  • Yanina Dutton - NIACE
  • Matt Flynn – CROW Surrey & Middlesex Business

School

  • Tony Maltby - NIACE
  • Stephen McNair- NIACE
  • Lynda Owen-Hussey – CROW Surrey
  • Zeal Solutions – Leicester University
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Contextual issues

  • Limited literature
  • Policy disjunction – age v education policy
  • Economic restructuring
  • Historical change and cohorts
  • Attitudes and discrimination – line managers
  • Economic context – labour demand and public sector

retrenchment

  • Defining “training” and “skill”
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

What we did

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

1 Reviewing the field

  • review of relevant literature:

– 23 academic databases – Keywords: age, training, 50+, retirement, work, later life, learning, older workers – CROW database (2500 documents) – 4777 documents, narrowed to 75 directly relevant, 37 post 2000

  • review of the major relevant national datasets:

– Labour force survey – Workplace employee relations survey – National adult learners survey – English longitudinal survey of ageing – NIACE annual survey of adult participation in learning – Also DWP research reports, European Social Survey, AARP, Campaign for Learning

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

2 Employee and employer perspectives

  • examination of employee perspectives through:

– specially commissioned survey of the adult population (11,900 aged 18-69) – pilot interviews with older workers – secondary analysis of transcripts from CROW ESF/HE project

  • examination of employer perspectives through:

– a secondary analysis of data collected in the Survey of Employer’s Practices and Preferences (SEPP) relating to age – secondary analysis of employer transcripts from qualitative element of the SEPP project.

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

3 Three omnibus surveys

  • Add two questions to

– ONS Omnibus – NIACE annual adult learner survey – NIACE/CROW commissioned survey

  • “Have you been offered training in last 3 months, and if

so did you take it up?”

  • “Do you think you are over or under skilled for your

present job?”

  • 10,760 responses
  • 63% employed, 33% unemployed, 3% inactive
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

What we found

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Learning declines with age (all forms)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+

NIACE Adult learning survey 2011

No learning since FT education Learned more than 3yrs ago Learning in last 3yrs Currently learning

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Type of learning changes with age

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

People rarely refuse training

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Older workers don’t think they need training (at 50)

Content Very overskilled Lifelong learners Underskilled

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Patterns of training vary by sector

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Training is stronger in the public sector

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Length of training falls with age

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Take up of training varies by

  • ccupational group
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Training offer does not reflect perceived skill level

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Skills and training by age

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Who trains older workers?

  • Larger organisations
  • Public sector
  • High proportion professional/managerial
  • High proportion female
  • Implications in current climate?
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

What makes training of older workers more likely

  • Workplace culture
  • Perceived “career stage”
  • Past job mobility
  • Evident need
  • Cost effectiveness

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Training and unemployment

  • Widely advocated, but little evidence
  • Training improves morale, but not employability
  • Need for good advice and guidance
  • Attitudes
  • Importance of embedded learning
  • Waiting periods do not help
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Why is demand for training low? Five hypotheses

  • 1. Underestimating future needs
  • 2. ‘Conspiracy to underperform’ between workers and line

managers

  • 3. Poor management, making poor use of the latent skills
  • f employees;
  • 4. Perception of a low return on the effort and costs
  • 5. Overvaluing formal qualifications
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Conclusions

  • Little perception that there is a problem
  • Little formal assessment of cost-benefit
  • No simple reason for decline in training
  • High training sectors/occupations continue to train
  • Length and nature of training changes
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Policy implications

  • Recognise diversity
  • Promote positive images of age
  • Promote learning for resilience
  • Promote benefits of training to employers
  • Link skills and age policies
  • Train/support most vulnerable at 50
  • Improve performance review/appraisal
  • Further research on benefits
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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

Research areas

  • costs and benefits of training/qualifications, to individuals and firms
  • segmentation of the older workforce in motivation to work and learn
  • how older people understand and manage work-life balance
  • how training can best combine with other strategies like work

placements to help unemployed older people

  • how communication about career happens between older workers

and employers,

  • the experience and aspirations of older BME workers
  • factors influencing individual retirement decisions
  • types of flexible working arrangements: their appeal and

implementation

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Centre for Research into the Older Workforce

CROW: www.olderworkforce.org.uk NIACE WBL 27