Employability and the willingness for further training of labor force aged 45 and over in Upper Austria

In the coming years, the demographic development will continue to show an aging of the population in general and of the working population in particular. This development will make the issue of the employability of older workers even more relevant in the future. The concept of employability can be understood in a number of ways; however, qualification-related components are always a central aspect. These components include formal training, the workers’ willingness to undergo further training courses and their past experiences in this area, as well as the workers’ skills and competences.

Against this background, the study at hand generated information about the further training of the specific target group of employed workers and job seekers aged 45 to 49 in Upper Austria. The results in terms of their general interest and expectations concerning further training will be used as a basis for the further development of Public Employment Service offers tailored to the target group in question.

The study employed a variety of methodological approaches, conducting an analysis of existing data and studies as well as primary surveys. The latter involved expert interviews with representatives of adult training centres in Upper Austria (n=20) and telephone interviews with the target group (n=304).