The workforce is aging and becoming increasingly diverse. In this section, I describe these changes and the implications on training.
The Workforce Grows OlderThe workforce in the United States will grow more slowly than it has in the past, and the number of young entrants will decrease even more sharply. (Goldstein & Gilliam, 1990) In 1990, 23% of the population was 20 to 29 years old, but that age group will decrease to 18% of the population in the year 2000: The proportion in the 50-to 59-year-old age group is expected to jump from 13% to 17% in 2000 and to 21% in 2010 (Warr, 1994). Thus, the portion of the population from which new employees are typically recruited will decline, and at the same time the number of older workers will increase.As that population shift occurs, there is also a trend toward increased longevity and vitality of older people. Older people are more active physically and mentally, and life-span projections are increasing. As more baby boomers born after World War I1 reach age 60, the Social Security fund is being stretched beyond its limits, and many proposals are being made in the U.S. Congress and elsewhere to revise eligibility standards for receipts of benefits. Some proposals include a postponement of initiation of full benefits from the current age 65 to ages 67, 68, or even 70. Further, Social Security benefits and pensions may not support the 20 to 30 years of retirement that may come with increased longevity, and many older people will prefer to work during what are considered "normal" retirement years. Whereas the traditional age bracket for "older workers" has been 45 to 64 (Charness & Bosman, 1992), these trends forecast an ever-increasing number of active employees in their late 60s and 70s, thus necessitating the definition of "older worker" to encompass those aged 50 to 70+.
Training Implications of an Aging WorkforceConsiderable progress has been made in understanding the nature of cognitive and performance changes that occur with age. In an excellent