As population aging becomes an increasingly prominent global issue, addressing the social challenges it poses has become a pressing task. This paper investigates the life and re-employment situations of the elderly in H district of S city, employing logistic regression and other analytical methods to examine the factors influencing their re-employment willingness. The findings indicate that possessing skills, being younger, and having higher levels of education are positively correlated with a higher re-employment rate among the elderly. In response, this paper explores the value reconstruction, functional orientation, and practice patterns of vocational education for the elderly. It proposes a multifaceted approach to vocational education, emphasizing the enhancement of individual life quality, adaptation to shifting societal conditions, pursuit of meaningful individual existence, and promoting the concept of an active, valuable elderly population. These insights aim to provide useful guidance for China’s response to the challenges of an aging population, particularly in terms of developing vocational education for the elderly.