Determinants of continued and discontinued participation in pre-retirement training: An Israeli case study

A pre-retirement training programme, the first of its kind in Israel, was offered to older workers in five industrial and public service organizations. After training, structured interviews were conducted with 138 workers, who formed two groups according to their rate of attendance at training sessions: continued and discontinued participation in the programme. An attempt was made to identify the characteristics of these groups, in terms of 12 independent variables. Multiple regression and discriminant analyses revealed that the best explanatory and discriminating variables were: occupational level, contact with grandchildren, attitude towards pre-retirement training, perceived attitude of management towards older employees, initiative versus dependence, and enjoyment of present job. On the basis of these variables, group membership was correctly predicted for 67 per cent of the sample population. The results may be useful for predicting participation among a similar population, and for reaching out to workers who otherwise seem unlikely to participate in pre-retirement training.