The relevant aspects of education and continuing training in Germany are to be examined theoretically and empirically against the background of demographic changes. Policy relevance of the topic is to be evaluated from an economic view. First we examine the determinants of education and further training, especially the influence of age and qualification structure. Then both individual returns and on-the-job productivity effects of training are to be estimated. At this we place emphasis on differences in types of continuing training and different groups of employers and training participants. A newly created data set enables us to subsequently compare wage and productivity effects on the industry level and to estimate potential spillover of continuing training investments. Finally these analyses allow us to bundle the single results to draw economic policy conclusions and to evaluate whether governmental interventions concerning education and continuing training are necessary for special target groups from an economic perspective.