Redesigning Skill Policy for an Ageing Australia.

This paper examines the implications of population ageing for skill in Australia. First, the paper discusses the concepts of skill and skill obsolescence. This is followed by an empirical assessment of the situation, based on the labour market data available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Three issues are examined: (1) the professional and occupational profile of older workers, (2) older workers' participation in education and training, and (3) the future of skill. The analysis demonstrates that older workers are traditionally concentrated in non-service industries, have less access to education and training opportunities, and remain under-utilised in the labour market. The paper argues for - and identifies some key dimensions of - a fresh policy intervention to deal with these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]