Employment among people aged 50 to 64 in England has jumped 40% over the past two decades, while the number of 16- to 24-year-olds in work actually fell by 13% over the same period. That single shift changes what retirement looks like for millions of people — not because everyone wants to keep working, but because many have to, and the skills they relied on for 30 years may no longer be enough.
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This article is general information only and does not constitute professional advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.
That 40% employment rise sounds like good news. But dig into the detail and a different picture emerges. Workers over 55 receive only about one in four career advancement opportunities — 24%, compared to 59% for 18- to 24-year-olds. Training budgets have been slashed by more than a quarter over the last decade. And almost a third of all jobs are expected to be reshaped by AI by 2050, with around 6.3 million roles changing entirely. So the retirees learning new skills in their 70s aren’t doing it for fun — they’re responding to a labour market that stopped investing in them years ago. Here’s what you actually need to know.
What This Means for Anyone Over 50
The central concept here is reskilling — learning new skills for a different role or industry later in life. It’s not the same as the training you did in your 20s or 30s. Reskilling after 50 happens against a backdrop of declining employer investment, age bias in hiring, and a pension system that increasingly expects you to work longer. The CIPD report that underpins much of this data calls it a shift “from luxury to necessity.”
What I tend to notice is that most retirement planning focuses entirely on savings and ignores the income side of the equation. If you’re 58 and your industry is shrinking, no pension pot size fixes the fact that you may need another decade of earnings. Reskilling is the bridge between where you are and where the jobs actually are.
The Training Gap by the Numbers
The figures on who gets trained, and when, tell a stark story. Training participation drops with every age bracket, and the spending behind it has been shrinking for years. Here’s how the age breakdown looks:
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| Age group | Formal workplace training (past 5 years) | Feel role offers good skills development |
|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 83% | 73% |
| 35–54 | 67% | — |
| 55+ | 53% | 47% |
The 30-point gap between the youngest and oldest workers in training access is not accidental. Employers spend less on training overall — down from £4,095 per trainee in 2011 to £2,971 in 2022, a 27% real-terms cut — and what remains goes disproportionately to younger staff. Public spending on adult learning has dropped 31% in real terms since its peak in 2003/04.
What does this mean for a real person? Say you’re 62, working in administration, and your employer has cut its training budget. You’ve seen younger colleagues get funded for digital skills courses while you’re told to “learn on the job.” You’re one of the 37% of older workers who know you could handle a more demanding role, but the pathway to get there doesn’t exist inside your current workplace. The consequence is either staying in a role that’s slowly becoming obsolete, or leaving the workforce earlier than you can afford to.
Where the System Lets Older Workers Down
The training that never arrives
The most common mistake is assuming your employer will invest in your development the way they did 20 years ago. They won’t. Training spend per person has fallen by over a quarter, and older workers are the first to be cut from the budget. If you wait to be offered training, you’ll likely wait until it’s too late. The fix is to identify the skills your industry will need in five years — not the ones it needed five years ago — and find your own route to them. The National Careers Service offers a free skills health check that can help you map where you are against where the jobs are heading.
The part-time pension trap
One in four older women workers are ineligible for automatic workplace pension enrolment because they work part-time hours. That’s not a training issue on its own, but it compounds the problem: if you’re in a part-time role with no pension contributions and no training budget, you’re essentially treading water. Women aged 50–64 are seven times more likely than men to work part-time, often due to caring responsibilities. The combination of low pension saving and no skills development means a double hit at retirement. Checking your State Pension forecast and understanding how part-time hours affect your NI record is the first step — the second is finding training that fits around your schedule, not the other way around.
The apprenticeship blind spot
Many older workers don’t realise that apprenticeships are available at any age — there’s no upper limit. But the marketing is almost entirely aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds, so people over 50 assume they’re not eligible. That’s a costly misunderstanding. Apprenticeships offer structured, funded training in growing sectors like social care, digital support, and green energy. The application process is the same as for younger candidates, but you need to look for employers who explicitly welcome older apprentices. The government’s jobhelp site for over-50s is a better starting point than general job boards.
The age bias you can’t see
A YouGov survey found that only 69% of people know age is a protected characteristic under equality law, compared to 80% for disability and 79% for race. That lack of awareness means age discrimination in hiring and training often goes unchallenged. Employers may not say “we don’t hire people over 55,” but the data shows it happens: older candidates are screened out earlier in application processes, and training opportunities dry up. One practical remedy is to remove age indicators from your CV — leave off graduation years and early career dates — and focus on recent, relevant experience. If you suspect discrimination, ACAS guidance on age discrimination explains what to do.
How to Reskill After 60 — What Actually Works
Start with what the labour market needs, not what you already know
The temptation is to double down on the skills you’ve used for 30 years. But if those skills are in a declining sector, more training in the same area won’t help. The CIPD report notes that almost a third of jobs are exposed to AI-driven change, and 6.3 million roles are expected to shift by 2050. Growing areas include health and social care, green technology, digital literacy, and administrative roles that require human judgment alongside basic tech skills. The National Careers Service skills health check takes about 20 minutes and gives you a report on which careers match your existing experience and what training would bridge the gap.
Use free and low-cost options before paying for courses
You don’t need to spend thousands on a qualification to reskill. Age UK offers technology and internet training specifically for older adults. Jobcentre Plus provides free training in IT literacy and English language skills. Many local colleges offer discounted or free courses for adults over a certain age. The key is to look for modular learning — short, focused courses that build one skill at a time — rather than committing to a year-long programme. Micro-credentials and bite-sized pathways are increasingly recognised by employers and are much easier to fit around part-time work or caring responsibilities.
Flexible working isn’t just for parents
One of the biggest barriers to reskilling after 60 is time. If you’re caring for a grandchild or an older relative, a full-time training programme isn’t realistic. But the law gives you the right to request flexible working, and employers have to consider it seriously. ACAS guidance on flexible working covers how to make the request and what your employer must do in response. The Centre for Ageing Better and Timewise have also developed a toolkit for employers on flexible working for over-50s — you can point your manager to it if they’re unsure how to accommodate you.
The pension angle nobody mentions
Reskilling later in life isn’t just about earning more — it’s about protecting your pension. If you can stay in work until State Pension age (currently 66 and rising), you can continue contributing to a workplace pension or SIPP, delay claiming the State Pension and get a higher amount when you do, and avoid drawing down your private pension earlier than planned. Deferring the State Pension for just one year increases your weekly payment by about 5.8% under current rules. That’s a better return than most annuities. If you’re unsure how reskilling fits with your pension strategy, speaking to a financial advisor through a service like JustAnswer can help you model the numbers before you make a decision.
What’s changing next — and why it matters
The State Pension age is set to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and then to 68 between 2044 and 2046. That means anyone in their 50s now should plan for a working life that extends into their late 60s. The government’s Fuller Working Lives strategy (now called 50 PLUS: Choices) aims to increase retention, retraining, and recruitment of older workers, but the practical impact so far has been limited. Meanwhile, auto-enrolment thresholds are being reviewed, which could bring more part-time workers into pension saving. These changes make reskilling not optional but structural — the pension system is being built on the assumption that you’ll work longer, and if you can’t, the safety net is thin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get funding for training after 60? ▾
Will reskilling affect my State Pension? ▾
What if my employer won’t let me train during work hours? ▾
Are apprenticeships really available for people in their 60s? ▾
How do I know if my current skills are still valuable? ▾
What if I have a health condition that limits the kind of work I can do? ▾
The Cost of Waiting Another Year
Training spending has been falling for a decade, and it’s not about to reverse. Every year you wait to reskill is a year where the gap between your current skills and what the market needs gets wider. The 228,000 people aged 50–64 who’ve left the workforce since the pandemic didn’t all choose to — many hit a wall where their skills no longer matched available jobs and no retraining pathway existed. The difference between leaving on your terms and leaving on someone else’s is often a single course, a flexible working request, or a conversation with a careers adviser. The pension system assumes you’ll work longer. The question is whether the training system will help you do it.
Remember: this article is general information only. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a qualified professional.
If this was useful, you might also want to read Is Part-Time Work the Perfect Retirement Recipe?.
Sources and Further Reading
From Office to Orchard: The Rise of Rural Retirement in the UK — Explores how location choices in later life interact with work and income decisions.
The Future of Retirement: Emerging Trends Shaping the UK’s Golden Years — Looks at the broader structural changes affecting how and when people retire.
CIPD (2025). Lifelong learning in the reskilling era: From luxury to necessity. 🔗
Centre for Ageing Better. Employment and training data for older workers. 🔗
UK Government. Help and support for older workers. 🔗
Catch-22. Upskilling and reskilling older workers. 🔗
