The work force of the near future will contain both a larger number and percentage of workers over the age of 55. Many of these older workers will re-enter the full-time work force in new areas or will transition into pools of contingent workers. Recent changes in labor law will also help keep older workers in the work place longer. The combination of these factors creates a situation where understanding the training and retraining needs of older workers is critical for continued productivity improvements. This paper summarizes the general state of current knowledge on training older workers, focusing on visual inspection and computer system usage. Generalizable aspects of training programs which have been successful are then considered, followed by identification of the areas in which research is most lacking.
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