Employees over the age of 50 make up a substantial proportion of the UK workforce but new research has found that this generation is being overlooked for workplace skills training opportunities, particularly related to generative AI.
Research outlined in the Workplace Training Report 2024, from Corndel, found that more than half of over 55s haven’t received any management or leadership training in their current role. Employees in the 23 to 38 age bracket were most likely to have participated in management and leadership training in their current role, with two thirds (67 percent) having received training to support this type of career development.
The report said that workers over 50 are being locked out of opportunities to upskill and re-skill in today’s rapidly evolving workplaces.
Among the over 55s, more than half (55 percent) have not received any training on how to use digital tools and technologies, such as ChatGPT, in the past twelve months. This is more than twice the percentage of younger adults aged 18 to 25 (27 percent) who haven’t received AI related training in the past year.
The research, based on a survey of 1,000 UK employees and 250 HR decision makers at large organisations, also showed employees aged over 55 are also least likely to have received workplace training to develop softer skills such as empathy, mental health awareness and emotional intelligence.
Just 25 percent of the older age group received this training compared to an average of 39 percent across all age groups.
But failing to upskill employers over 55 may be a mistake as this group value professional development and aren’t confident in their current skills set, the report said.
More than half of over 55s (54 percent) say professional development is an important factor in their decision to stay with an organisation, suggesting employers need to shift their thinking around offering training and development for these employees.
One in five over 55s (19 percent) said they don’t feel confident enough in their current skill set to find new employment or pivot their career if they were to lose their current job. In contrast, less than one in ten (8 percent) under 55s didn’t feel confident in their ability to find a new job or pivot their career with their current skill set.
James Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Corndel, said: “Skills power people and power organisations. Without providing access to adequate training opportunities, we are not allowing this group of the workforce to thrive. Businesses are potentially losing out on the huge value that this experienced group of the workforce can add if they have equal access to ongoing technical and management skills training.
“Continuous learning and upskilling needs to be embedded into the UK’s workplace culture. In an era of the great ‘unretirement’, with thousands more over 55s working longer than ever before, alongside a time where both technology and working practices are evolving at lightning speed, people in all roles, at all levels of seniority and across all age groups should have the opportunity to enhance their skills and learn new skills to prosper in today’s workplace.”
