In the contemporary era, societal sentiments often position older employees as being limited in their capacities for work, learning and innovations. This leads them to being viewed as being ill-placed in contemporary work settings and not worthy of their enterprise’s and nation state’s investment in their development. Whilst partial exceptions to such sentiments extend to age-tolerant work and some professional practices, the evidence suggests that, in many countries, older employees are afforded less discretion in their work, limited options for advancement and fewer opportunities for continuing education and training. Yet, the foundations of these conclusions appear flawed. Indeed, there is a mismatch between the societal sentiments that shape what is afforded older employees and evidence of their willingness, engagement in and abilities to innovate and learn. The Programme of International Assessment of Adult Competence (PIAAC) data from a range of countries with advanced industrial economies provide a consistent and strong evidentiary basis of this mismatch. Added here are qualitative data from interviews with and surveys of older employees in Australia and Singapore that, together with the PIAAC data, demonstrate older employees’ willingness for education, work and innovations that contradict what is suggested and perpetuated through societal sentiments that inhibit their participation. While this mismatch leads to discriminatory practices in workplaces, with consequences for older workers, the societal and economic costs are of great significance. The failure to afford older employees’ work and learning opportunities, limits their penitential to make these contributions. As many nation-states’ population age, this represents an unhelpful impediment to realising their social and economic goals. Proposed here are some considerations for how such sentiments might be changed and how institutional practices might change to be more positive in their affordances for older employees and exploring means by which their participation in continuing education, workplaces and communities might be enhanced. Included here are promoting the engagement and agency of these employee s, and across all kinds and classifications of work.