Empowering Youth for a Prosperous Future: The Call for Action on World Youth Skills Day

On the occasion of World Youth Skills Day, UNICEF is calling on more stakeholders and partners to invoke investment in the required abilities and tools that can make all the difference in this fast-moving world for young people. The call for action comes when the world is striving more pressing than ever toward a more prosperous, peaceful, and sustainable future. In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared World Youth Skills Day to shine a light on the need to prepare the youth for employment, fulfilling work, and entrepreneurship.

The Increasing Demand for Youth Skills Development

The present job market and the future world of work are changing at an unprecedented rate. By the year 2030, it is projected that the global economy will be under severe pressure to generate 600 million jobs for the youth. These challenges are many in a country like Eastern and Southern Africa. Some of the transition barriers that prevent young people from being painstakingly transitioned from school to work include misaligned skill development with available jobs on the market; limited access to open and accredited learning flexibilities; and few decent work opportunities.

In this special disadvantage category fall the adolescent girls and young women, youth with disabilities, displaced youth, and those from the lower wealth quintiles and rural areas. These groups are often excluded or have fewer opportunities to acquire the relevant competence that would help them participate economically. Statistics indicate that only 33% of adolescents in the region are completing their lower secondary schooling, with this number further dropping to 24% in upper secondary education. The gaps are also digital, which incapacitates the potential of youth to succeed in labor markets in the future.

The Uncertain Future of Youth Employment

Looking ahead, the need arises to equip youth with relevant employability skills. As per certain estimates, about 85% of jobs that today’s learners will take up by the year 2030 have not yet been invented. With this, immense pressure falls on all the stakeholders—governments, higher educational institutions, employers, and the youth themselves—to undertake creative thinking toward the development of a diverse set in the continuum of skills and competencies to secure future employment.

Unless one affects a radical transformation in engagement, learning, and attainment of skills, the African youth will pay the price of not being competitive globally and locally. Under the scenario that it would be—were it to occur—are called for substantial efforts that create work opportunities immediately for some 150 million young workers who will enter the labor market over the next decade.

A Call to Action: Flexible Learning Pathways

To this end, UNICEF leads the advocacy—all key partners on board—to ensure that young people are provided with flexible and accredited learning pathways that equip them with foundational skills of basic literacy and numeracy, transferable skills in problem-solving, communication, and empathy, digital, entrepreneurship, and technical skills, and green skills needed for sustainable development.

Noting that not all youth are provided with these skills, according to UNICEF, relevant, flexible, and accredited learning opportunities have to be created for all youth in multiple learning pathways. These range from formal schools to non-formal and community settings and reach into the world of work. These would be the key strategies:

Provide More and Better Learning Choices: Increase and provide access to learning opportunities and experiences that teach 21st-century knowledge and skills in both the regular education system and the community and workplace.

Accelerate Youth Transitions from Learning to Earning: Provide alternative learning opportunities for youth to make easy transitions into the workforce, which enable them to be ready and prepared to work upon completion of education.

Harnessing Technology and Innovation: Channeling technological innovation and strategic partnerships to strengthen learning experiences and extend access to skills development programs.

Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development

Among the most important goals of UNICEF is developing learning among adolescents and youth, more so for the most marginalized. This very much brings into line with many SDGs, including ending poverty, enhancing education providing life-long learning opportunities, and finally promoting employment and decent work for all persons.

World Youth Skills Day presents an opportunity for millions of youth to make a difference in their lives and further drive sustainable development and inclusive economic growth. Through investing in youth skills development, we ensure not only the possibility of young people overcoming the challenges in rapid change but also enable them to be change-makers by making the world a more prosperous and peaceful place for coming generations.

On this significant day, we need to commit ourselves that our young people will move forward in life and contribute to the development of the global economy. That can only be achieved with full potential if we unite for the same purpose and remain committed to really resourcing our youth with skills needed for a prosperous future ahead.