Devil's advocate, assuming limited resources for the program, it makes more sense to invest them in younger cohorts in terms of total ROI to society.
However, surely doesn't satisfy the principle of equality under the law. Alas
Whether you like it or agree with it or not, the math has to be done at some point since we are not (yet?) a post-scarcity species.
How do you think things like life insurance policies and wrongful death awards are calculated?
Consider questions like: Why did we spend so much money trying on a Covid vaccine but not to cure gall bladder cancer? Why does eminent domain exist? Why do young men have to register for selective service?
But they were clearly talking about ROI of the job training.