FORK TRUCK TRAINING FOR OLDER WORKERS

The proportion of individuals over 40 years of age is increasing with worldwide demographic changes, and employers are becoming more aware of the need to select, train and retain older workers. Discusses data on the performance of trainee fork‐lift truck drivers of various ages in this context, in the light of research into the performance of older people on complex psychomotor tasks and into the training of older workers. Details the results of a study which showed that older people did learn to drive fork‐lift trucks successfully; few age‐related decrements were found. Discusses reasons for the success of older learners, with reference to the design of successful training programmes for older workers, and outlines recommendations for programme design.