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Equipping young people with quality education, training, and skills is essential. This World Youth Skills Day reminds us that teachers stand at the forefront of this great global effort.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Background and Importance of World Youth Skills Day
In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 15th as World Youth Skills Day to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. Since then, World Youth Skills Day events have provided a unique opportunity for dialogue among young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, firms, employers’ and workers’ organizations, policymakers, and development partners. Participants have highlighted the ever-increasing significance of skills as the world transitions towards sustainable development.
The Role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
Education and training play a central role in achieving the 2030 Agenda. The Incheon Declaration: Education 2030, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4, emphasizes the importance of inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Technical and vocational skills development receives considerable attention in Education 2030, particularly in terms of access to affordable quality TVET, acquisition of technical and vocational skills for employment and entrepreneurship, gender equality, and access to vulnerable populations. TVET is expected to address the economic, social, and environmental demands by equipping youth and adults with the skills needed for employment, decent work, entrepreneurship and supporting transitions to green economies and environmental sustainability.
TVET can equip youth with the necessary skills to enter the workforce, including self-employment. It enhances responsiveness to changing skill demands, increases productivity, and improves wage levels. TVET reduces barriers to employment through work-based learning, ensures recognition and certification of skills gained, and provides skill development opportunities for under- or unemployed individuals, out-of-school youth, and those not in education, employment, and training (NEETs).
2023 Theme: Skilling Teachers, Trainers, and Youth for a Transformative Future
The theme for World Youth Skills Day 2023 is “Skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future.” It highlights the crucial role of educators in providing skills to youth, enabling them to transition into the labor market and actively engage in their communities and societies. Given technological advancements and evolving labor market dynamics, agile and adaptable skill sets are increasingly necessary. TVET plays a vital role in meeting these demands by reducing access barriers to employment, ensuring the relevance and recognition of skills, promoting green skills and practices, and offering skill development opportunities to youth not in education, employment, or training.
On World Youth Skills Day, let us recognize the potential of young people as agents of change and commit to providing them with the skills and opportunities needed to build a prosperous and sustainable world for all. Together, we can shape a brighter future where no young person is left behind.
Did you know?
– Estimates suggest that 600 million jobs need to be created over the next 15 years to meet youth employment needs.
– The global number of unemployed youths is projected to reach 73 million in 2022, slightly improving from 2021 but still above the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
– The share of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET) rose to 23.3% in 2020, the highest level in at least 15 years.
– The youth population is expected to grow by over 78 million between 2021 and 2030, with low-income countries accounting for nearly half of the increase. Education and training systems must respond to this challenge.
– Implementation of green and blue policy measures could create an additional 8.4 million jobs for young people by 2030.
Key Documents and Publications
- General Assembly resolution proclaimed the WYSD
- World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond
- World Youth Reports
- Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022: Investing in transforming futures for young people
- Has youth employment recovered?
- Youth Report 2022: Non-state actors in education: who chooses? who loses?
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