World Youth Skills Day 2023

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.

The theme for World Youth Skills Day 2023 is Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future. It highlights the essential role that teachers, trainers and other educators play in providing skills for youth to transition to the labour market and to actively engage in their communities and societies.

Technological advancements and shifting labour market dynamics increasingly call for agile and adaptable skill sets. It is crucial that we empower young people to navigate these changes effectively. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is well placed to meet these demands by reducing access barriers to the world of work, ensuring that skills gained are relevant, recognized and certified, promoting green skills and practices, and offering skills development opportunities for youth who are not in education, employment and training.

On World Youth Skills Day, let us unite in recognizing the potential of young people as catalysts for change and commit to providing them with the skills and opportunities they need to build a prosperous and sustainable world for all. Together, we can shape a brighter future where no young person is left behind.

As per UNESCO Survey:

There are 1.21 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years, accounting for 15.5 per cent of the global population

More than 1/5 of young people aged 15-24 are not in – education, employment, training
Young people in the labour force are 3x as likely as adults to be unemployed
Globally, nearly 68 million young people are looking for a job
Young women are up to 1.5x more likely to be unemployed than young men
In Africa, the youth population is projected to reach 830 million by 2050
Almost 90% of all young people live in developing countries
About 96% of all young workers in developing countries are in the informal economy
268 million children and adolescents across 73 countries are affected by crises
67% of young people say climate change and biodiversity loss is the world’s #1 challenge