Job Reskilling and Upskilling Among the 50-Plus

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 two 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.

Methodology

Wave 1: Interviews were conducted January 2024, 2022 and February 24 to March 1, 2022, among 2,163 U.S. adults age 50-plus in the Foresight 50+ Omnibus. Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, Foresight 50+ is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 50 or older. Interviews were conducted online and via phone. All data are weighted by age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, and AARP membership.

Wave 2: Interviews were conducted September 15–19, 2022 and October 1418, 2022, among 1,174 U.S. adults age 50-plus in the Foresight 50+ Omnibus. Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, Foresight 50+ is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 50 or older. Interviews were conducted online and via phone. All data are weighted by age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, and AARP membership.

Wave 3: Interviews were conducted June 15–19, 2023 and July 20–24, 2023, among 2,249 U.S. adults age 50-plus in the Foresight50+ Omnibus. Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, Foresight 50+ is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 50 or older. Interviews were conducted online and via phone. All data are weighted by age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, and AARP membership.

For more information about this survey,  please contact Lona Choi-Allum at lallum@aarp.org.  For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.