Upskilling older employees in the artificial intelligence era

english

2025

volume 10, issue 4

artificial intelligence   knowledge management   knowledge society   lifelong learning   older employees   retraining   upskilling

Fakulteta za organizacijske študije v Novem mestu
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Research Question (RQ): What is the effect of new technologies, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), on the need to upskill older employees (50+ years). Purpose: The purpose of the research was to carry out a systematic literature review of existing research in the field of the effect of AI on the upskilling needs of older employees. Method: We performed a systematic literature review across six academic search engines: ProQuest, Emerald, Sage Journals, Springer, Research Gate, and Google Scholar. Results: Artificial intelligence is significantly transforming the labor market, as it requires constant adaptation to new skills and knowledge. AI has a significant effect on older employees, who are exposed to greater challenges due to a possible lack of digital skills and sensitivity to change. In this context, training and further education are key mechanisms to ensure that skills match the requirements of the work environment and the labor market. Organizations must quickly adapt to changing requirements by creating a culture of lifelong learning that encourages seniors and other employees to improve. Training programs must be based on the specific needs and challenges faced by older employees. Organization: The research emphasizes the importance of training older employees in the age of AI and encourages organizations to create a culture of lifelong learning as part of the organization's strategic directions and goals. Society: The importance of research for society is reflected in the insight into the involvement of all age groups in the possibility of improving knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards the use of modern technologies. Organizations and society itself bear the social responsibility to enable older employees to successfully integrate into the work environment in the AI era. Originality: The research addresses the need to improve the skills of a specific age group in the age of AI, where it simultaneously highlights the importance of fostering a culture of lifelong learning in a rapidly changing world. The research findings provide guidelines for policymaking in the field of training on the national level in the context of an aging workforce and new technologies. Limitations/further research: The literature review was limited to six publicly available databases. In the article, older employees were considered as people in the labor process older than 50 years. We must emphasize that older employees differ from each other in terms of education, economic, social, and other circumstances. Further research should investigate the effect of new technologies regarding the specific circumstances mentioned in this age group.

07.07.2026