Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the key themes in the area of the impact of demographic change on young workers and older workers in relation to education, skills and employment, as discussed in the papers included in this section. The authors have also drawn upon data from their project "From Young Workers to Older Workers" as a context for the papers. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws out the main themes from the papers contained within this section and presents original data from interviews with 97 older workers who were interviewed at two points in time--labour market entry and labour market exit. Findings: The selection of papers in this section is outlined, as well as offering some findings from the authors' research on older workers. Originality/value: The papers in this section, including this paper, offer an overview of some of the key debates in relation to the impact of demographic change on both young workers and older workers. (Contains 1 table.)