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Welcome to our first Work in Progress podcast for WorkingNation.

The nature of work is changing rapidly and dramatically. Advances in technology are eliminating some jobs, transforming others, and, in some cases, creating jobs we never even imagined. In this weekly podcast, we’ll be speaking with leaders in business, education, government, and nonprofits about what’s being done to train and reskill American men and women to ensure they can compete for, and qualify for, good-paying, in-demand jobs today and in the future.

Today, a look at what it means to be an older worker in this changing economy.

The workforce is aging, even as jobs continue to require new tech skills. There are now more Americans over the age of 50 than under the age of 18. Each day, 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 and 65 percent of them say they plan to keep working past that milestone. With an average life expectancy of 79, that could be another decade or more.

So, is retirement obsolete? How can we improve the quality of the jobs older workers are getting hired for now? And how can we prepare workers 40-plus for jobs of the future, and maybe another 30-plus years of work?

We took these questions to the experts: Paul Irving, Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging Chairman; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Economic Policy Institute Director of Retirement; Teresa Ghilarducci, The New School for Social Research labor economist; and Art Bilger, Founder and CEO of WorkingNation.

You can find Work in Progress, a WorkingNation podcast, anywhere you get your podcasts. Search Work in Progress and look for our logo.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Episode 101: Living Longer, Working Longer
Host: Ramona Schindelheim, WorkingNation Editor-in-Chief
Producer: Anny Celsi
Executive Producers: Joan Lynch, Melissa Panzer, and Ramona Schindelheim
Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4.0.

You can check out all the other podcasts at this link: Work in Progress podcasts

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