英国呼吁年逾花甲者回归校园接受培训

People in their sixties should go to university to retrain because they will be expected to work for longer before retirement, the Government has suggested.

Older workers who take courses to keep their skills up to date will be more likely to keep their jobs, claims David Willetts, the higher education minister.

Mr Willetts said the age limit on student loans to cover tuition fees had been lifted, making a degree course “great value” for older people. This would help them cope with the pressure they would face to keep up to date as they worked well into their sixties, he suggested.

His comments followed a government report which found that the country’s future economic success would depend on the skills and contributions of older workers.

Campaigners for the elderly voiced doubts that prospective pensioners would be willing to commit to challenging degree courses and increased levels of debt to continue working.

One in four people will be older than 65 by 2033 and economists have warned that the ageing population will place an unsustainable burden on taxpayers unless more people work for longer.

The state pension age is to rise to 67 by 2028. Ministers have warned that they have no idea when younger workers in their thirties will be able to retire.

Mr Willetts, who is accompanying David Cameron in India, urged workers older than 60 to give further education serious consideration. “There is certainly a pressure for continuing to get retrained and upskilled,” he said. “Higher education has an economic benefit in that if you stay up to date with knowledge and skills you are more employable.”

Mr Willetts said a university course had “wider” benefits, making people more likely to lead healthy lives.

“Education is such a good thing it is not reserved for younger people,” he said. “There will be people of all ages who will want to study. There is great value in lifelong learning.”

Under previous rules, students in England were eligible for a loan to cover tuition fees only if they were younger than 54.

Latest figures showed that only 1,940 undergraduates starting courses last year were older than 60, out of a total of 552,240 students in Britain. Some 6,455 were aged between 50 and 60, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

英国政府建议年龄超过60岁的人回到学校重新接受培训，因为预计这些人的退休年龄会推后。

英国高等教育大臣大卫•威利茨表示，通过参加课程学习最新技能的老年工作者更有可能保住饭碗。

威利茨称可以用于支付学费的助学贷款的申请年龄上限已经取消，老年人学习学位课程将“超值”。他指出，这有助于老年工作者在年龄超过60岁后应对要跟上时代变化所带来的压力。

他的此番评论是在政府公布一份报告之后发表的。政府报告指出，国家今后的经济发展能否取得成功取决于老年工作者的技术与贡献程度。

为老年人权益奔走呐喊的活动家对此深表怀疑：那些有可能成为养老金领取者的人是否愿意为了继续工作而学习学位课程，并承担更多的负债。

到2033年，英国将有四分之一的人年龄超过65岁，有经济学家已经警告称，如果没有更多的人延长工作时间，人口老龄化问题将无疑给纳税人造成难以承受的负担。

到2028年，国家规定领取养老金的年龄将提高到67岁。大臣们已经警告称，不知现在30多岁的年轻工作者还能不能熬到退休。

正陪同首相大卫•卡梅伦出访印度的威利茨敦促年龄超过60岁的工作者认真考虑一下继续教育问题。“再次接受培训、提高工作技能自然存在压力，”他说。“不过，接受高等教育会产生一定的经济效益，因为如果你不断更新知识与技能，你就更能胜任工作。”

威利茨认为，大学课程确实会提供“更加广泛”的益处，可以让人更能过上健康的生活。

他表示，“教育诚可贵，并非只为年轻人提供。任何人不论年龄多大，只要想学都可以。要知道，终生学习受益匪浅。”

根据以前的规定，英国学生申请助学贷款以支付学费的条件是年龄不超过54岁。

最新数据显示，在英国共计55万2240名学生中，去年开课的大学本科生中只有1940人年龄超过60岁。根据高等教育统计署的统计，有约6455人年龄介于50到60岁之间。