Older workers represent the fastest growing age group in the American workforce.
According to federal estimates, over the next 10 years the percentage of workers aged 45 and over will rise from 31 to 40 percent. In September 1996, with funding from the US Department of Labor and assistance from AARP's Northeast Regional Office, the Radcliffe Public Policy Center launched a study of workplace training issues affecting older workers. The Center conducted focus group interviews with workers aged 45 and over from the Boston area, as well as with professional trainers, supervisors, and human resources professionals. The goal was to learn about the access of older workers to training in the workplace and about the effectiveness of the training programs in which they had participated. The study found that older workers experience considerable anxiety about the changing needs of today's workplace and about the match between their skills and employers' needs, especially in the area of technology training.