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Older Professionals, Learning and Practice

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International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

Abstract

Globally, workforce is aging. Workers aged over 50 years are becoming an increasingly significant and large component of national workforces, including the professions. This situation is likely to remain the case for the next few decades. Despite workplaces becoming increasingly reliant on older workers, the distribution of opportunities for support, professional development and advancement belies that fact. However, the situation confronting older professionals appears more nuanced and dual. On one hand, many professionals report little or no age discrimination and high levels of opportunities for advancement, should they wish it. On the other hand, they are most likely to retire early and make their own decisions about the duration and intensity of working lives and how they engaged in continuing education programs. They also largely report being active lifelong learners, whose work life learning is shaped by work requirements and challenges. Consequently, considerations for ongoing learning for older professional workers are premised on combinations of opportunities, motivation and capability/capacity (self-efficacy, personal agency), in ways that are quite distinct from other categories of older workers. The chapter proposes that the ongoing development and employability of older professionals is likely to be central to national economies in decades to come. It is necessary to have an adequate fit between provisions of various forms of learning opportunities in and outside workplaces, to support individual skills currency and national innovation capacity. Distinctive for older professionals is a high level of personal choices available for their work and learning, necessitating a concerted public and private effort, in broad cooperation among relevant partners, when seeking solutions for extended job-careers in line with prolonged life-spans.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    An exception here is when LLL is used as a strategy to combat unemployment and marginalization, among others by older workers, as it has been defined by OECD, UNESCO, Nordic Council and G7 countries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Teacher Training and Cultural Education, Stord/Haugesund University College, Stord, Norway

    Tarja Irene Tikkanen

  2. School of Education and Professional Studies, Adult and Vocational Education, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt campus, Messines Ridge Road 176, 4122 Mount Gravatt, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Stephen Billett

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  1. Tarja Irene Tikkanen
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Correspondence to Tarja Irene Tikkanen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education and Professional Studies, Adult and Vocational Education, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Stephen Billett

  2. Institute of Educational Science, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany

    Christian Harteis

  3. Institute of Educational Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Hans Gruber

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Tikkanen, T.I., Billett, S. (2014). Older Professionals, Learning and Practice. In: Billett, S., Harteis, C., Gruber, H. (eds) International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8902-8_41

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