Inclusive Workspaces Benefit Everyone

The rising average and median age of Americans requires our institutions, employers and communities to consider and include older adults in workforce development programs. As of 2022, 23.3 % of the civilian labor force was aged 55 and older, up from 12.4% in 1998. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that individuals aged 65 and older will make up 9.4% of the workforce by 2028.

Older adults are a vital, growing segment of the labor force. Some older Americans work beyond age 65 because of financial pressures such as medical debt and the increased cost of living. Others work to acquire new skills, socialize, pursue passions and feel productive. As Americans live longer, healthier lives, more of us will extend our working years by choice or necessity.

Advocating for inclusive workspaces where older workers can thrive and contribute benefits everyone. Older workers contribute necessary income to many households and are assets to community businesses and institutions. Beyond the present, aging is universal. If we structure our society so that older adults can satisfy their social and material needs through work, if necessary, younger Americans will have access to the same as they age.

In addition, our economy will benefit from having a larger percentage of the population possess more buying power and having the number of experienced and skilled workers we need as a country to compete on the global stage. Everyone benefits from inclusive workspaces.

The annual National Employ Older Workers Week, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, educates employers and communities about the realities, needs and opportunities associated with our aging workforce. In 2024, the theme was "Embracing Experience, Empowering Futures."

Older employees can benefit businesses and institutions by serving as mentors, thought leaders and examples of strong work ethics and commitment to quality. Embracing experienced individuals helps address talent shortages and empowers Americans across generations. It also helps to combat ageism and build bridges across the generations with a shared appreciation for the value everyone brings to work.

Volunteering can be an effective strategy for including older Americans in workforce development. At AmeriCorps Seniors, we see firsthand how service can open doors for older workers.

We are the federal grantmaking office serving adults aged 55 and older in AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. Over 142,000 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers log 29.6 million service hours annually working with local grantee organizations improving their communities. Our grantees include community organizations that support older workers year-round by helping them to learn or improve their skills and find jobs.

As we prepared this article, we backed our belief in older workers and service as a pathway to work with $12 million in recent grants through the AmeriCorps Seniors Workforce Development Senior Demonstration program.

Volunteers seeking jobs serve with local groups that address community needs in health care, caregiving, education and legal and financial services. These Seniors Workforce Development grantee organizations provide our volunteers with training, certifications, mentoring, coaching, transportation, job placement and other support for professional and para-professional careers.

Several programs across the country offer competitive stipends to reduce financial barriers for older adults interested in serving as a pathway to employment:

• AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers with the Lifespan of Greater Rochester in northern New York state receive training through a respite care certification program and serve as respite support volunteers. Training equips volunteers with the skills to advance from unpaid volunteers to paid respite professionals.

• Through the New York City Department for the Aging, volunteers are trained in quality skills development, credential training, job placement and supplemental follow-up services that support job retention, in addition to community service assignments.

• The HAP Foundation strives to expand access to hospice and palliative care. Volunteers serve as community health workers serving people in historically underserved Chicago communities. The volunteers earn certifications like those held by other national community health workers.

• The National Council on Aging, Inc. provides advocacy and resources to improve older adults' health, well-being and economic security. Volunteers in the northern panhandle of West Virginia will train at community health facilities and earn certifications as echocardiogram technicians, phlebotomists or certified nursing assistants from West Virginia Northern Community College in Wheeling.

• The Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission, Inc. seeks to elevate the quality of life in northern Kentucky through advocacy, education and community service. Volunteers interested in legal or financial services will be trained and placed with nonprofit organizations that provide financial education, tax preparation, housing assistance, legal services, job training and adult education services. Through the program, volunteers will earn financial services or legal certifications.

• Porter-Leath is a non-profit organization in Memphis, Tennessee, that offers services from preschool to foster grandparenting to help teach children and empower families. Volunteers from AmeriCorps Seniors earn Child Development Associate certificates as they work with children in classroom settings across Memphis. They will help address the area's shortage of qualified early childhood teachers.

• The University of Chicago trains AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers who live on the South Side or Southland of Illinois to assist with community medical needs as clinical research assistants. Through their service and subsequent employment, volunteers will increase older adults' access to oral health services, mitigate loneliness and expand access to other health interventions and medical research.

Volunteers enrich communities with knowledge, skills, lived experience and necessary service. As they demonstrate their skills and improve our communities, we have an opportunity to support.

AmeriCorps Seniors has the reach and opportunity to support workforce development for older workers, and is eager to share what it learns about workforce development from an implementation-research project led by the University of Maine's Center on Aging.

We support older adults who are returning to the workforce or changing their career. We believe everyone has a role in ensuring that older workers can satisfy their material needs and contribute to our nation.

Learn more about how AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers bring out our best as a nation at AmeriCorps.gov/YourMoment.

Whether you are retired or seeking a pathway to meaningful work, we can connect you with local volunteer organizations and service opportunities that match your interests, schedule and lifestyle.

Atalaya Sergi leads AmeriCorps Seniors, the federal grantmaking office of AmeriCorps that is focused on promoting and engaging people aged 55 and over in outcomes-oriented service. She has more than 20 years of experience in service, community engagement, and education, working in the public and nonprofit sector to bring private and public organizations together to ensure people of all ages, as well as those living in underserved communities, thrive. Prior to AmeriCorps, she served as vice president, strategic partnerships & programming at Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc., managing AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs as a federal grantee. She launched Jumpstart’s only AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program. Read More