World Youth Skills Day: July 15 was declared as World Youth Skills Day by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This significant move marked the reasons for celebrating the strategic importance of equipping the youth with the skills for employability, good work and entrepreneurship.
It became known in 2014 and since then, World Youth Skills Day has provided a unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, firms, employers and labor organisations, policy makers and others. development partner.
World Youth Skills Day 2022 takes place amid concerted efforts towards socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that are linked to challenges such as climate change, conflict, persistent poverty, rising inequality, rapid technological change, demographic transition and others. .
Young women and girls, youth with disabilities, youth from poor families, rural communities, indigenous peoples and minority groups, as well as those who suffer the consequences of violent conflict and political instability, are excluded due to a combination of many factors. , Moreover, the crisis has accelerated many changes already in the world of work, adding layers of uncertainty about the skills and competencies that will be in demand once the pandemic is overcome.
The United Nations and its agencies, such as UNESCO-UNEVOC, are well placed to help address these challenges by reducing access barriers to the world of work, ensuring that the skills gained are recognized and certified. and provides opportunities for skill development to the outside. School youth and who are not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET).
During this Decade of Action for the 2030 Agenda, the full participation of youth in global processes to generate positive change and innovation is critical.
World Youth Skills Day: Significance
World Youth Skills Day provides an opportunity to youth to polish their skills by participating in skill development programs organized by various training institutes. It also provides a route between youth and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, employers and labor organisations, firms, development partners and policy makers.
The day also highlights the strategic importance of equipping the youth with skills for employability, good work and entrepreneurship.
World Youth Skills Day 2022 Theme
Every year, the World Youth Skills Day holiday is celebrated with a certain theme as set by the United Nations. The theme of World Youth Skills Day 2022 is ‘Transforming Youth Skills for the Future’.
For the year 2021, the theme was ‘Rebuilding Youth Skills Post-Pandemic’, which aims to help youth overcome the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, on a skill and emotional basis. No theme has yet been confirmed for the 2022 celebrations.