Counting on Experience :

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Over 50s have driven much of the employment growth over recent decades as more people work to older ages, and the age profile of our workforce changes. This matters to individuals, as they navigate their way through work and retirement, but also has big implications for the workforce of different sectors in the UK economy.  

In their 2024 manifesto, the Labour Party committed to introducing a new Industrial Strategy, promising to “work in partnership with industry to seize opportunities and remove barriers to growth”. In the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, published last year, the government identified eight ‘growth-driving sectors’ with “the highest growth opportunity for the economy and business”.

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60 years on from Harold Wilson’s ‘white heat of technology’ speech, the fastest growing parts of our economy are still often thought of as ‘youthful’.  However, most of the workers who will drive the Industrial Strategy are already part of the workforce. 

Our analysis of labour market data shows that the Industrial Strategy workforce is ageing in the same way as the wider economy, and in many cases more so. Over 50s are a crucial part of the workforce in these sectors, meaning that retaining and upskilling these workers is just as important to the success of the Industrial Strategy sectors as attracting and training new workers. 

Key findings from the research include: 

• Of the 11.1 million workforce of the Industrial Strategy sectors, 3.4 million are aged over 50, and 450,000 are aged over 65. One in three workers are aged 50+, similar to the wider economy.  
   
• The average worker in an Industrial Strategy sector is now over seven years older than in 1991 (44.7 vs 37.6).​ This means the sectors overall have aged faster than the wider economy, where workers are on average six years older (43.8 vs 37.9).   
   
• Early labour market exit has a major impact on the output of Industrial Strategy sectors – every Industrial Strategy sector sees higher rates of early retirement than the national average. This results in an estimated £31 billion of output lost each year from individuals leaving the workforce before State Pension age. This includes £15.5 billion due to early retirement and £3.6 billion due to health-related factors.  

As the government seeks to grow these strategic sectors, it should keep in mind how to support existing workers over 50 and why they leave these sectors, as well as how to encourage younger workers to enter them. 

Our research shows that the Industrial Strategy White Paper, individual sector plans and individual workforce strategies, should explicitly consider 50+ workers and their needs. 

Supporting more of this group to be in good work for longer would make a significant contribution to the economic growth these sectors generate.

Issues that policy makers and employers could focus on to support them include: 

• Job satisfaction – encouraging workers to stay in the labour market for as long as possible and enabling them to balance changing responsibilities, such as caring, for example through greater use of flexible and part-time work.
   
• In-work health support – enabling those with health conditions or a disability to adapt their working practices or environment so that they can continue to work productively.
   
• Access to training and reskilling – to enable workers to keep up to date with a changing labour market, including through delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and incentivising reskilling via the Growth and Skills Levy.
   
• Career guidance – empowering workers over 50 in Industrial Strategy sectors to change roles as well as helping others to move into them, including by using the National Jobs and Careers Service to specifically target this group. 
   
• Pensions and finances – ensuring that workers fully understand the financial demands of retirement compared to their pension savings and helping them to make good decisions about when to retire.

Download the report