Abstract
This article argues that strengthening America’s workforce requires greater investment in older adults, many of whom face interrupted careers, financial insecurity, caregiving responsibilities, and age discrimination despite their experience and desire to remain employed. Drawing on examples from the National Council on Aging’s workforce initiatives, including the Senior Community Service Employment Program and a healthcare workforce demonstration in West Virginia, the article shows how targeted training and supportive services can help older adults re-enter the labor market and transition into in-demand fields. It also highlights the growing importance of the direct care workforce as the population ages and demand for caregivers rises. Alongside personal stories of resilience and reinvention, the piece calls for employer recognition of older workers’ value and for stronger public policies that reduce discrimination, expand opportunity, and support long-term economic security and well-being in later life.
Key Words
Older workers, labor force participation, ageism, Senior Community Service Employment Program, direct care workforce, workforce policy, job training
Work. The average adult spends a third of their hours at work. It is a major part of our lives. We spend our childhoods learning and preparing to work eventually. We learn new skills and grow intellectually at work. We develop important life relationships with our colleagues at work. We feel personal satisfaction when we succeed at work. Most of us spend decades working with the hope that our dedication will pay dividends in a worry-free and financially secure older adulthood. Simply put, work is important.
We spend our early and mid-careers looking for opportunities to learn new skills, tackle new challenges, achieve promotions and reach the pinnacle of our professional lives in the later third of our careers. But life sometimes sends curveballs. At the National Council on Aging (NCOA), we seek to create the conditions where all can age well and are committed to ensuring that all older adults can thrive despite interrupted careers due to layoffs, personal health crises, and often caregiving for family members and friends. In recent years, through our workforce development programs, we have heard from older adults who seek to re-enter the workforce or augment social security and savings that proved to be inadequate in today’s market.
Curveballs and Other Challenges
Many Americans engaged in the workforce for decades, building lives that were not sustainable after they were no longer able to punch a time clock, stand at a cash register, or swing a hammer. Life’s curveballs can be further compounded by hiring and workplace age discrimination. According to AARP, 64% of adults 50+ have witnessed or experienced age discrimination in the workplace. Conscious and unconscious age bias can lead to older job applicants being told they are “overqualified.” One job seeker we worked with recounted that when she completed an online application, entering the year of her high school graduation was not an option because the dates did not go back far enough. Older workers report having less access to training opportunities because supervisors make ageist assumptions about their interest in professional development.
At NCOA, it is our position that having one’s basic needs met is foundational to employment success.
Even modest savings can be quickly wiped out by a single health care crisis or emergency. A partnership between NCOA and LTSS Center at UMass Boston, launched in 2020, found that 80% of Americans age 60 and older (about 34 million households) would struggle to weather a financial shock such as divorce, a major health issue, or the need for long-term services and supports (NCOA, 2025). The 2025 update (Tavares et al., 2025) found that older adults in the bottom three net worth quintiles had mortality rates between 17.6% and 21%, nearly twice as high as those in the top two deciles. Working and staying engaged in the workforce is more than an economic issue; it also shapes health, wellbeing, and longevity.
Older adults increasingly express a desire to remain in the workforce, seeking a balance between greater flexibility and time off while continuing to contribute their lifetime of knowledge and expertise and to maintain meaningful personal connections. The challenges faced by older workers are different from those of their younger counterparts. While we recognize the barriers that older workers face, we also recognize there is much opportunity and workforce value within this often-overlooked demographic. At NCOA we are working to debunk the myths that surround older workers and ensure that workforce participation is open to all.
NCOA is honored to work alongside national and local partners to lead a variety of employment programs designed to help older job seekers remain in the labor force. For more than six decades, NCOA has been a national grantee of the Department of Labor–funded Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which serves low-income unemployed job seekers who are ages 55+. Created in 1965, it is the only program focused on job training and placement for older workers with significant barriers to employment. We pair job seekers with community service opportunities where they learn needed skills that they will use in an unsubsidized job. So many of those served by SCSEP need more than job skills. Many have had inconsistent employment throughout adulthood. Others are challenged by low literacy or are living with current or imminent homelessness. At NCOA, it is our position that having one’s basic needs met is foundational to employment success. If a person is hungry or uncertain of where they will find shelter at night to get restorative sleep, they are not going to be a productive employee. So we start there.
Our network of community-based organization partners refers job seekers to a multitude of supports: housing, food security programs, and heating and cooling assistance, to name a few. Once basic needs are met, we can concentrate our efforts on training and employment. In addition to community service training, we provide access to specialized training that will enhance individuals’ candidacy potential, including professional credentials and certifications. Throughout their community service and training, job seekers are supported by job coaches and employment specialists. These dedicated professionals help our job seekers recognize how they have grown and developed throughout their training and instill them with confidence to apply for jobs and successfully interview.
“It made me believe in myself more. It makes me feel good.”
Mike Buice, a 65-year-old Georgia resident, left the workforce in January 2024 when his wife required surgery that involved a lengthy recovery and significant caregiving by him. At that time, Buice was stressed from work and was considering retirement. But after his wife’s convalescence was complete, they recognized that it would be difficult to cover their expenses solely with Social Security. Buice and his wife both enrolled in SCSEP and Buice was assigned to The Legacy Link, an Area Agency on Aging in northern Georgia. Buice’s community service assignment, which involved largely administrative tasks, was vastly different from the way he had made a living for years in manufacturing. His experience with customer service proved an asset as he worked with those who benefitted from The Legacy Link’s services. When a job opened in the finance department to help process monthly reports, Buice was recommended for the position and landed the job because he had been given the opportunity to demonstrate his skills and reliability. Buice was not afraid to try something new, and his adventurous spirit has led to a second career. He encourages others to “Get out of your comfort zone and try something different. You won’t know unless you try!”
Strengthening the Direct Care Workforce
In addition to SCSEP, NCOA also designed and operates a healthcare workforce demonstration program funded by AmeriCorps Seniors. We took what we learned from SCSEP and built a sector-focused training program in the northern panhandle of West Virginia in an effort to fill vacancies in high-demand healthcare positions. As we designed our program, we learned that there are many jobs in health care that do not require a tertiary degree, but do require advanced learning and certification. After conferring with West Virginia Northern Community College, we narrowed our trainings to EKG technician, Certified Nursing Assistant, and Phlebotomy.
Our program combines certification training as well as a community service component. Community service assignments have the dual benefit of supporting nonprofit organizations while also helping people re-enter the workforce in a supportive environment. Our staff is committed to job seeker success, and they check in regularly to ensure they are having a good experience in their community service assignment and that the coursework is manageable.
We assumed that prospective program participants would likely be people who had worked in the health industry and were looking to upskill for better jobs or re-enter the industry. But, as with SCSEP, we have found that many of our candidates have struggled with long-term employment stability and face many of the same barriers.
Rachelle Goodwin, 58, learned about NCOA’s AmeriCorps program from a friend who encouraged her to explore it. Goodwin was unnerved by the prospect of school and doubted she would be successful, but she decided to try because she knew it was time to focus on herself and her future. Goodwin had spent the previous 10 years as one of two primary caregivers of her disabled grandson. During that time, she worked part-time as she was able to work overnight home health care shifts. Goodwin chose the EKG technician track, but before she began her studies, she was assigned to provide community service at her local Catholic Charities. Goodwin provides front desk coverage and is the first person you meet when you enter the building. There she provides support to the clients who come for services, as well as administrative support to the staff. Once the class began, Goodwin felt supported by her instructor and said the one-on-one coaching was invaluable. She has passed the class and is now waiting for the opportunity to sit for the certification exam. Once equipped with that certification, Goodwin looks forward to securing a job that will pay her at least $25 an hour. She has now rebuilt confidence in herself seeing what she has been able to achieve saying, “It made me believe in myself more. It makes me feel good.” Programs like this not only help people learn new skills and find new jobs, but they help people realize their potential.
Roxie Jones, another job seeker enrolled in NCOA’s AmeriCorps Seniors program, selected the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) track. Jones had been a CNA earlier in her career, but her certification had lapsed and she needed updated training and credentials. She moved through the program quickly, earned her certification, and is now working in the continuous care unit at Wheeling Hospital. Jones finds joy in her work through the connections she makes with those for whom she provides care. She was raised in a rural farming community where neighbors looked out and cared for one another. Caring for others has always been a part of her life and the AmeriCorps Seniors program supported her re-entry in the workforce by providing free training and a stipend until Jones found a job.
Labor market demand for the caregiving work that Jones does will continue to grow over the next decade with projections indicating the sector will need nearly one million new caregivers by 2034. Every day through 2027, 11,000 Americans turn 65 (Fichtner, 2024). They will need support as they age in their homes, older adult communities, assisted living, or nursing care facilities. The care economy is an ever-increasing part of the American economy and the demand for the labor force to support it continues to expand exponentially. The direct care workforce, which includes roughly 5.4 million home care workers, residential care aides, and nursing assistants, is among the largest and fastest-growing segments of the U.S. labor market and 41% of it is made up of people 50 years or older (PHI, n.d.). This workforce plays a vital role in enabling Americans to remain employed while caring for a family member and provides essential job opportunities for people across the age spectrum.
The Importance of the Direct Care Workforce
At NCOA, we recognize how crucial it is to support the direct care workforce as a critical sector of our economy and vital part of the system of supports and services for older adults and individuals with disabilities. Launched in 2022 with funding from the Administration for Community Living, NCOA leads the Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center, an initiative focused on strengthening the frontline workforce that supports older adults and people with disabilities across home- and community-based settings. Through hands-on technical assistance, the Center partners with state agencies such as Medicaid, aging, disability, education, and workforce systems as well as employers, advocates, and other stakeholders. Together, they strive to improve job quality, build career pathways, and address persistent workforce shortages to build a more robust, future-ready workforce capable of meeting growing demand and supporting care in the years ahead.
“Get out of your comfort zone and try something different. You won’t know unless you try!”
Through this work, NCOA is helping elevate the professional profile of direct care workers, who have long been underpaid and undervalued despite the critical role they play in people’s lives at their most vulnerable moments. Through this national movement, the Strategies Center is driving system level improvements in recruitment, training, worker well-being, retention, and career advancement that will create the conditions for more Americans, and their families, to access the critical services and supports they need to maintain vibrancy, connection and pursue the American dream at any age.
The United States needs laws that protect and support older workers and recognize their uniqueness. NCOA supports two still unpassed pieces of legislation: the Protect Older Job Applicants Act (POJA) and the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA). POJA is an effort to specifically protect older job applicants from age discrimination. POWADA seeks to restore legal protections for older workers to prove age discrimination using the same standards as other civil rights laws. The U.S. needs strong laws that hold employers accountable when people are subjected to and harmed by age discrimination. Additionally, NCOA supports the Older Workers’ Bureau Act to strengthen the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to address the unique needs of older workers and coordinate federal efforts with the creation of a federal Older Workers Bureau. With older adult labor force participation in constant growth, it is an investment in the American economy.
The longer and more consistently we are able to work, the longer we have access to employer-sponsored health care and retirement planning benefits. While this does not guarantee an easy retirement, it paves the way for good health and savings later in life, which are keys to aging well.
And while NCOA can work to help older adults succeed later in life, we also need employers, hiring professionals, and managers to recognize what older workers bring to the table.
In an economy with an aging workforce, astute employers are realizing that older workers are a necessary part of their labor force. Much time and effort are given to attracting and retaining younger workers, but employers should also take into consideration older workers’ professional needs and wishes. Our society needs to appreciate the positive impact older Americans have in their communities.
Maura Porcelli is Senior Director, Workforce, at the National Council on Aging. She leads efforts to provide opportunities and access to upskilling and job search resources and works to identify ways older workers can be supported to promote longevity and success in the workplace. Prior to joining NCOA in 2014, she provided contract and financial oversight to the Green House Project, an organization that developed a skilled nursing home model that put elders at the center of architectural and clinical design concepts.
Photo credit: Shutterstock/Chokniti-Studios
References
AARP. (2026). Worried you’re being pushed out of your job? You’re not alone.https://www.aarp.org/work/age-discrimination/age-bias-survey-2026/
Fichtner, J. J. (2024, January). The Peak 65 Zone is here – Creating a new framework for America’s retirement security. Retirement Income Institute. https://www.limraconsumer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Whitepaper_Fichtner.pdf
National Council on Aging. (2025, October 7). Addressing the nation’s retirement crisis: The 80%. https://www.ncoa.org/article/addressing-the-nations-retirement-crisis-the-80-percent-financially-struggling/
PHI. (n.d.). Understanding the direct care workforce. https://www.phinational.org/policy-research/key-facts-faq/
Tavares, J., Cohen, M., Pallis, M., Glova, K., & Sethi, R. (2025, September). The 80%: Low-income older adults die 9 years earlier than those with greatest wealth [Issue brief]. National Council on Aging. https://assets.ncoa.org/ffacfe7d-10b6-0083-2632-604077fd4eca/df44501b-7c8e-43ac-8e12-2373288f71d4/2025_80_Percent_Report.pdf
