Skills Across Generations: The Realities of Younger and Older Workers

Eighty-five percent of young adults and eighty-two percent of older adults support government funding for skills training. This rare cross generational consensus highlights broad recognition of how skills training prepares people for economic opportunity. 

Skills Across Generations: The Realities of Younger and Older Workers is a fact sheet—co-released with the On Aging Institute and Young Invincibles—that explains why skills policies are crucial for addressing the needs of a multigenerational workforce and for driving economic mobility for both younger and older workers. Research will demonstrate how:

• Younger and older workers comprise critical segments of the workforce.
• Young people are looking to build their careers, yet many face systemic barriers to doing so.
• Older workers bring valuable experience and institutional knowledge, yet outdated workplace policies and hiring practices can limit their opportunities.

Download this fact sheet and use it as a conversation starter to help advance policies that foster a multigenerational workforce. In doing so, we can build a resilient economy that meets today’s demands while ensuring equitable access to skills training, quality jobs, and supportive services—creating opportunities for workers of all ages to thrive.