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- Through a systematic review of existing research, evidence
has been found that skill development activities lead to improved
labour market outcomes for some mature-aged people (in terms of
higher employment rates or wages), especially for those who were
previously unemployed, and for women.
- Evidence has been found that labour-market-related gains are
greater for the mature-aged who complete higher-level qualifications.
Gaining lower-level qualifications or incomplete qualifications
may have a negative effect on labour-market-related gains for
some older people.
- The specifics of which skill development activities work, when,
and for which groups of mature-aged are sparse in this systematic
review, as the included studies mostly focused on the level of
‘qualification’ acquired, or simply referred to ‘training’
as the skill development activity.
- Three main factors emerged as barriers to skills development
of mature-aged people while providing ideas for facilitating this
development. The factors leading to improved attachment to the
labour market or improved productivity are:
- attitudes and behaviours of employers and employees towards
older people working and to learning new skills and knowledge
- individuals’ personal circumstances and attitude to
learning
- public policy beyond vocational education and training,
such as some aspects of superannuation and retirement income
policies.
- Through this systematic review, the need for further research
was revealed, especially to identify which skill development activities
work, when, and for which groups of mature-aged. Evidence from
such research would complement the large-scale data analyses already
undertaken which have yielded the above results. It may also offer
supporting evidence to promote lifelong education and training.
- It is proposed that this systematic review will be updated over
the next 12 months.
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