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CHAPTER 7
Learning, work and later life

in the UK: guidance needs

of an ageing workforce

Stephen McNair

This chapter examines the impact of an ageing society on the nature of and
need for career guidance and training, in the context of the UK governmentʼs
attempts to extend working life and of a major study of training and work in
later life in the UK (McNair, 2010). It considers the changing nature of the life
course, and the older labour market, including the influence of sector, cohort,
and gender. It notes the distinction between older workers already in relatively
secure jobs, whose employment prospects have improved in recent years,
and those who become unemployed after 50 whose prospects of return
remain very poor, and identifies areas of labour-market failure which might be
addressed by a combination of career guidance and training.

7.1. Careers guidance and training for older workers

Careers guidance has traditionally been seen as a service for people in the
first half of life, to help them to manage their entry into and progression through
the paid labour market. Lack of attention to people in the second half reflects
a general cultural assumption that older workers are marginal to the
mainstream economy and keen to retire as soon as possible. It also reflects
that retirement itself is a relatively short period of leisure and dependency with
few, if any, career implications. Although this is not a universal view, attempts
to build careers services relevant to older people have been very small in
scale, and often temporary (Brown, 2010; Ford et al., 2008). The traditional
view is increasingly under challenge as a result of demographic change, and
its associated economic and social pressures.
Conversely, training is widely proposed as the solution to many ills of the
labour market including unemployment, and underuse, of older people.
However, participation in training declines rapidly after 50, and evidence of