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Working life and skills are changing fast. Some jobs are booming, others are disappearing, says the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025. The OECD warns: “There is an urgent need to boost the skills of older workers.”

However, older workers (55–65 year-olds) take part in non-formal learning and training much less than those aged 25–54 year-olds, the OECD finds. On average, the rate is 32% versus 49% in 23 European countries, though the gap differs across countries.

Where do older people learn the most—and the least? What do experts and the OECD recommend?

When do we stop learning?

According to the OECD Employment Outlook 2025 report, participation in formal and non-formal adult learning declines with age. In 2023, only a third of 60–65 year-olds took part in adult learning in the 12 months before the survey, compared with more than half of 25–44 year-olds. The averages cover 29 countries, 22 of which are in Europe.

The share of the population participating in adult learning is over 60% among 25–29 year-olds, but drops to 39% for those aged 55–59 and to 31% for those aged 60–65. This share starts to decline clearly after the age of 45.

Non-formal training was far more common than formal learning (training leading to a qualification) across all age groups. This was especially true for older individuals, with only 1% of 60–65 year-olds participating in formal learning.

Learning by doing also decreases with age. 

Why do older people take part in learning less?

Lower participation in non-formal learning among older individuals may be due to less willingness to train or other barriers, such as time constraints or course costs. 

According to the report, a lower willingness to train is likely a key factor. The share of people who wanted to participate in training—whether or not they actually did—falls from about 60% among 25–44 year-olds to 37% among those aged 60–65.

A similar pattern appears in the share of people who participated in less training than they wanted, which drops from 28% among 25–34 year-olds to 17% among those aged 55–65.

The report shows that time constraints are less of a barrier to training for older people than for younger groups. Among 55–65-year-olds, 7% took part in less training than they wanted due to time constraints—5% citing work-related reasons and 2% family reasons.

In contrast, 15% of 35–44 year-olds reported time constraints as a barrier, with 8% pointing to work and 7% to family responsibilities.

Large differences across European countries

In every OECD country, including all European ones in the list, older individuals (55–65 year-olds) take part in non-formal learning less than the prime-age group (25–54 year-olds). However, both their participation rates and the size of the age gap vary greatly.

The highest participation in non-formal training among 55–65 year-olds is seen in the Nordic countries—Norway, Finland, and Denmark—at around 50%. Sweden ranks fifth with 43%.

The European average (22 countries) is 31.7%, compared with 34.9% across the OECD (29 countries).

The lowest participation in non-formal training for this age group was in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, all below 18%.

Outside the Nordic countries, England has the highest participation at 43.5%, followed by the Netherlands (41.7%) and Ireland (40.9%). 

Among Europe’s five largest economies, Italy has the lowest participation at 18.5%, followed by France at 21.7%. Germany stands at 34.9%, slightly above the average.

The participation gap between 25–54-year-olds and 55–65-year-olds is widest in Portugal at 24.7 percentage points (pp) and smallest in Italy at 8.9 pp. However, this does not mean older people are doing better in Italy, as their participation rate is the fourth lowest in Europe.

Is this a surprise? Not at all

One reason older people are less likely to engage in training—and employers are less likely to fund it—is the lower expected return on such investment due to shorter remaining working lives, the report notes. This is no surprise in economic theory. 

According to ManpowerGroup, 75% of employers in 21 European countries were unable to find workers with the right skills in 2023.

“Continuous learning is essential”

Pawel Adrjan, Director of Economic Research at Indeed, told Euronews Business that continuous learning is essential in a fast-evolving market. As with previous technological innovations, professionals who proactively learn new tools, platforms, and methodologies will be better positioned to work efficiently with emerging technologies.

The OECD noted that higher employment rates among older workers can help employers preserve valuable knowledge and skills while boosting productivity.

“There is an urgent need to boost the skills of older workers and promote their participation in well-targeted training,” the organisation recommends. 

How can governments respond?

OECD offers four main actions that the governments can do. They included:

• Focus on boosting skills of older workers

• Address barriers to job-to-job mobility

• Confront ageism and other forms of discrimination

• Revive productivity growth, including through AI and automation

Across the EU, people are living longer than in past decades. Many countries have responded by raising the retirement age, keeping people in the workforce for more years.