Continuing Vocational Educational Training, Self-Directed Ageism, and Extending Working Lives: Evidence from the German Ageing Survey

Abstract Continuing vocational education and training (CVET) is essential for prolonging working lives, as it improves the qualifications and skills of older workers, helps to prevent skill mismatches, and increases their employability. Research indicates that access to training throughout life is unequally distributed in society, with certain labour market groups, such as those with higher education and better working conditions, benefiting more. This disparity results in social inequality and long-term negative effects on the employment trajectories of disadvantaged older workers. The impact of internalised ageist stereotypes regarding older workers’ ability to acquire knowledge later in life is underexplored but may significantly affect their motivation to participate in CVET and indirectly influence their labour market participation in later life. Utilising data from three waves of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) covering the years 2014 to 2021, descriptive statistics and mediation analyses are employed to investigate the unequal distribution of CVET participation among older workers and to examine how self-directed ageism—specifically, one’s perceived ability to learn—affects the degree of CVET participation and subsequent employment trajectories in later life. The findings reveal differences in the level of CVET participation among older workers and highlight the role of ageist self-stereotyping in CVET engagement and late working-life employment trajectories. To extend working lives, policymakers, trade unions, employers, and stakeholders must provide CVET opportunities for older workers while actively combating age stereotypes to encourage participation and maximise training benefits.