Older workers willing to learn new skills

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated work and job trends and upended the way we live, work, and learn.  The third survey in the Work & Jobs Data Series on reskilling and upskilling continues to examine how adults age 50 and older took time during the pandemic to reskill and upskill.  The demand for skilled workers is providing the workforce with leverage to seek jobs with the flexibility and growth opportunities they desire. It is also making the case to employers for the importance of providing opportunities for upskilling and reskilling within their existing and incoming workforce.  

Adults age 50-plus continue to show interest in growing their skillsets.  The significant increase from Wave 1 (January/February 2022) to Wave 2 (September/October 2022) in the proportion of adults who are willing to learn new skills if requested by their current or a potential employer is maintained in Wave 3 (June/July 2023) (57%, 62%, and 60%, respectively).  Interest in receiving additional job or skill training of any kind if it were available for free remains statistically equivalent between Wave 1 (42%), Wave 2 (43%), and Wave 3 (46%). Despite the willingness to learn new skills, two in three (Wave 1: 66%; Wave 2: 65%; Wave 3: 64%) say that they did not participate in any job-related training or education in the past 2 years.

In Wave 3, among those who did participate in job-related skills training or education programs in the past two years (34%), results show a significant increase from Wave 2 to Wave 3 among those who participated in computer or other technology training (11% and 14%, respectively). And when all respondents were asked about their interest in taking a training class within the next year, interest in computer or other technology training (48%) rose to the top, followed by foreign language (34%), continuing education (26%), and professional skills training (25%).

The preference for online/virtual class options increased significantly in Wave 3 (77%) up from 68% in Wave 1 and 70% in Wave 2. Not surprisingly, most report that the classes they took were online/virtual. 

Read the Detailed Findings

• Job Reskilling and Upskilling Among the 50+ (Annotated Questionnaire, PDF)
• Methodology: January 2022 (PDF)
• Methodology: February 2022 (PDF)
• Methodology: September 2022 (PDF)
• Methodology: October 2022 (PDF)
• Methodology: June 2023 (PDF)
• Methodology: July 2023 (PDF)
• Older Workers Employ a Growth Mindset (Infographic, PDF)
• Work & Jobs Data Series: Current Workforce Trends Among the 50+

About the Series

In 2022, AARP Research began sharing workforce trends on a variety of topics as they relate to workers age 50 and over. A new topic is highlighted every two months, and data for each topic are gathered through a nationally representative online survey with results posted in an annotated questionnaire. Each survey topic will be refielded every six to eight months to gather trend data. 

Results will be available for public use.