The World Youth Skills Day is a designated United Nations event that aims to mark the importance of equipping the youth across the globe with the required skills for employment, work, and entrepreneurship.
It aims to foster ‘a unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, firms, employers’ and workers’ organizations, policymakers and development partners’ as stated on the official UN website. Here’s all you need to know about this coveted event:
History:
The United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 as World Youth Skills Day in 2014. Its primary aim is to achieve the Incheon Declaration of Education 2030 that takes about ‘devoting considerable attention to technical and vocational skills development, specifically regarding access to affordable quality TVET; the acquisition of technical and vocational skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship; the elimination of gender disparity and ensuring access for the vulnerable.’
Significance:
As noted by the UN…
- Schools were shut down for over 30 weeks in 50 percent of the countries between March 2020 and May 2021.
- It was revealed that distance learning was the most common way of imparting skills.
- Youth employment fell 8.7 percent last year, compared with 3.7 percent for adults.
These glaring statistics point out the need for providing skills in a novel and more accessible manner to the youth. At the same time, it calls for celebrating the indomitable and creative spirit of the young minds across the globe.
Speaking in perspective, as the world is embarking on a transition towards a sustainable model of development, it has become increasingly important to stay updated with skills and to keep abreast with the latest global developments.
By celebrating or marking the event each year, the youth, as well as governmental organizations and global authorities, are reminded about the dire need of inculcating technical and vocational skills amongst young people for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.
The day furthers on the Education 2030 mission and is aimed to provide access to affordable quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to young minds. At the same time, it promotes the elimination of gender inequality and assured access to resources to vulnerable groups and smaller pockets of society.
The event also endorses all-around equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and supports transitions to green economies and environmental sustainability by necessitating changes on the grass route level. It bears immense importance in the current context of the pandemic, as reflected in the theme of the year.
Theme:
The World Youth Skills Day 2021 will pay tribute to the resilience and creativity of youth through the crisis. Participants will ponder on how TVET systems have adapted to the pandemic and recession and think of how those systems can participate in the recovery. They will further highlight the priorities that they should adopt for the post-COVID-19-world.
Back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several cabinet ministers acknowledged the event by taking to their social media handles. PM Modi noted that skill development for the youth is of national importance and is also an important basis for making India self-reliant. Here’s hoping the World Youth skills Day helps us build a capable, creative, and resourceful workforce of the future!
