Why questioning ageism is crucial to lifelong learning

Age Without Limits Day takes place this year on 10 June. It’s a moment for us to come together and push back on the ageism that causes so much harm in our society – limiting our work, health, and who gets valued.  The theme for 2026 is ‘Question Ageism’, encouraging us to identify and challenge examples of ageism that have become normalised in everyday life. Many of these go unnoticed, but questioning those attitudes breaks habits, sparks curiosity, and can change our thinking.  

One of the life areas where damaging assumptions have become normalised is learning – and that’s why we support Learning and Work Institute’s Get the Nation Learning campaign. We know that when adults learn, our society and economy thrive – but ageism can block that. Common phrases like “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, “stuck in their ways”, or it being “too late” reinforce the idea that we cannot gain new skills and knowledge as we get older. Sadly, L&W’s 2025 Adult Participation in Learning Survey shows how these phrases and ideas can become internalised. Nearly one third (31%) of people who say they have not engaged in learning in the last three years report feeling “too old to learn”. The older people get, the more likely they are to feel this way. The report found that this form of self-directed ageism is the most cited barrier to learning.

Ageism when it comes to learning is not just self-directed. Figures from ONS show older workers are less likely to receive training at work than other groups – 15% of workers aged 50-64 said they had received job-related training in the last four weeks (Jan-Mar 2026), compared with 21% of 18-24s. Meanwhile, CIPD stats show that only 47% of over-55s feel their current role offers good skills development, compared with 73% of 18–24-year-olds. With longer careers becoming the norm, and a changing economy needing more of us to update our skills, this can’t continue. L&W’s survey shows 94% of those engaging in learning identify at least one benefit – including ‘softer’ impacts like self-confidence, which we know is eroded by ageism too; isn’t it only fair that workers of all ages have access to these benefits?

Many of the supporters who get in touch with the Age Without Limits campaign say the campaign name resonates with them because their experience of getting older has involved embracing chances of doing something new or different in later life. Take Chris, who turned his redundancy into a new career as a fitness instructor, or Brenda who retrained as a coach in her 50s and said: “I’ve really found my purpose. It’s never too late to learn something new and that’s the message I want to share with people.”.

Stories like these show that it absolutely is possible to continuing learning throughout life, and the benefits of being able to do so. They underscore the fact that coming up against ageist assumptions does not have to be an inevitable part of getting older. It can feel daunting to challenge such a huge issue, but that’s why questioning the comments and assumptions we see and hear around us can be a great place to start.

On 10 June, we’d love people, organisations and workplaces to stop and ask each other – why do we assume that we can’t learn new things as we get older? Why might we assume that an older colleague doesn’t want or need training opportunities? Have we made assumptions in the past about others, or limited ourselves, because we think learning is only for younger people? Take a look at our free resources and ideas for how to take part – whether you have just five minutes to post on social media or would like to do something more with colleagues or friends.

Together we can take steps to challenge and put an end to ageism – so we can all age, and learn, without limits.