Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has become a role model — not just for aspiring basketball players, but for aging workers who want to keep pursuing their careers.
James began his 23rd season in the NBA last month, breaking the record for consecutive seasons (previously held by Vince Carter).
Last week, he ended a massive 1,297-game streak of scoring in double digits during the regular season.
This week, he scored 29 points in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Those would be astonishing accomplishments under any circumstances, but even more so in a league constructed around youthful athleticism.
James continues to perform at a high level in an era increasingly dominated by young phenoms like the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Webanyama.
Until recently, sports teams routinely prepared their veterans for the exit before the ink had dried on their last contract.
They assumed that athletes’ value would diminish as they aged.
But players like James are bucking the conventional wisdom.
And just as sports teams have found success harnessing the experiences of older players like James, employers have found success utilizing the talents of mid-career and older Americans.
The workplace has always been a place of adaptability — a place where workers must reskill and upskill to keep up with the changing nature of work.
Yet older workers are the most vulnerable to rapid change, especially technological change.
The US Chamber of Commerce predicts that the number of workers age 55 and older will grow three times faster than that of workers age 25 to 54.
But the labor force participation rate for Americans over age 55 is only 38%, significantly below that of all other working-age demographic groups.
That cannot continue if our economy is to continue to grow, especially with a declining birth rate.
We need to keep our older workers employed.
We also need employers to recruit more older workers through industry-vetted registered apprenticeship programs, which are approved by the US Department of Labor or state agencies.
Older workers match well into new apprenticeships in fields such as technology, education, financial services, health care and hospitality.
But according to the Labor Department, the average age of new participants in these apprenticeship programs is just 29.
We need to encourage employers to enroll older workers in apprenticeships, and we need to accelerate access to digital and technological training for the LeBron James players in our economy.
They are eager for the chance.
A 2024 CWI Labs survey found that 92% of workers over the age of 50 want opportunities to gain new skills.
The International Longevity Center found that age-diverse teams consistently outperform their narrow-age counterparts, meeting or exceeding expectations 73% of the time.
Successful managers learn to combine the strengths of older and younger workers.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, for example, the US men’s basketball team roster included rising stars like Anthony Edwards and Jason Tatum as well as older veterans, and they blended well to advance to the gold medal game.
The young players had speed and drive — but with the gold medal on the line, Steph Curry’s brilliance and the experience of LeBron James and Kevin Durant powered the team to success.
The workplace should be no different.
When older workers are fully engaged in the workforce, we all win.
Older employees, like LeBron James, may have to adapt to new technologies and challenges.
But they can continue to contribute — and to excel.
Gary A. Officer is founder and CEO of the nonprofit CWI Labs, which works to bring discouraged workers into the labor force.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
