The four stages are:

1. The establishment stage (ages 21 to 26)
2. The advancement stage (ages 26 to 40)
3. The maintenance stage (ages 40 to 60)
4. The withdrawal stages (ages 60 and above)

The different career stages represent a broad developmental perspective on people’s jobs. Organizations who take a long term view of training, developing, and retaining their employees establish career planning process that takes account of these stages.

People in the establishment stage want to find out about the alternatives that are open to them. They are not sure of their interests or capabilities and they are often unsure of the skills they need to develop for advancement.

People in the advancement stage want to know how they can advance more effectively. They want to know the long term options open to them, and they want more exposure and visibility.

People at the maintenance stage want to help others to become established and advance. They may want to reassess what they do and decide if they should redirect their careers.

Finally, people at the withdrawal stage want to develop interests outside of work. Their focus is financial security and in many cases they want to find out how they can continue to help others.

Do your organization’s training and development processes cater to the distinct needs for these employee groups? If not, maybe a rethink would be worthwhile!