Foreword

The digital revolution, the green transition and rising longevity are giving rise to more fluid, fragmented and diverse career paths spread out over a longer lifespan. Consequently, workers across the globe are rethinking their career ambitions and increasingly face the prospect of having to seek new job opportunities and switch careers at middle and older ages. The rate of job changes has increased in recent decades and according to the 2022 AARP Global Employee Survey, almost one in two workers aged 45 and above hopes to or expects to change jobs within the next three years.

The green and digital transitions will no doubt create new job opportunities with prospects for good pay, benefits and career progression. Yet, the evidence presented in this report suggests that the likelihood of workers switching to new occupations declines substantially with age. Moreover, unwanted job loss as a result of economic restructuring carries a substantial penalty for many older workers through lower wages in new jobs or long periods of unemployment, hurting overall economic productivity and worker well-being. Older workers with low skills are the most likely to be left behind by the transition into better-paying jobs with better working conditions that do not undermine their health and quality of life.

Therefore, business and policy makers will need to do more to support positive and inclusive career transitions that give more experienced workers better opportunities to grow their skills, pay and talent. Such increased opportunities will yield benefits for all, helping businesses, as many continue to see vacancies go unfilled, as well as workers desiring to fulfil their career goals.

This report adds to the evidence base on how often and what type of career transitions workers make as they age and on the quality of these job changes. It identifies the benefits and risks associated with mobility for mid-career and older workers in OECD economies. The report also provides recommendations and good policy practices and solutions from around the world on overcoming barriers to career mobility.

Ensuring that workers have greater choices and opportunities for career mobility throughout their working lives so that they can work in jobs that meet their needs as they age is an essential requirement of the modern labour market.