World Youth Skills Day 2020
It’s more critical than ever before that governments and the private sector invest in skills solutions.
This year’s World Youth Skills Day comes amid an unprecedented crisis.
As a result of COVID-19, over 1.6 billion children and youth have not been able to attend school in person. A particularly difficult situation for the millions of youth who should have joined the workforce his year to begin their professional careers.
It is not clear how many of these youth will find their first job amid the economic downturn or acquire the additional training they’ll need to succeed professionally in the future.
That’s why this World Youth Skills Day, Generation Unlimited is shining a light on two critical questions – what kind of skills do young people need to reimagine a post-pandemic world? And how can they acquire them remotely and digitally?
At present, only 50% of students have access to distance learning. A figure that’s even lower for girls who are 33% less likely to have access. COVID-19 has taught us that governments need to invest substantially in remote learning, not just for future pandemics, but to connect students from otherwise isolated and marginalized communities to a wider range of educational opportunities.
The kinds of skills that young people acquire are equally important, as they will take the lead in building a more just and resilient society. Careers in areas such as science, health care, sustainability, and public policy can help to tackle cross border challenges and build stronger communities. Young people also need to learn both hard and soft skills, such as acquiring an entrepreneurial mindset and skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability and communication skills.
It’s more critical than ever before that governments and the private sector invest in skills solutions. This means working with and for young people to define skills that are key to meaningful work in the 21st century and expanding connectivity for remote learning.
This World Youth Skills Day, let’s invest, let’s reimagine, let’s learn, so that every young person has a chance to succeed.
Virtual Dialogue With Youth
With the aim to promote a global conversation on how young people and businesses reimagine skills post-COVID-19, Generation Unlimited with the support of PwC organized a virtual dialogue with Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, Bob Moritz, Chairman of the PwC International Network, and young leaders from Algeria, Argentina, and South Africa. This is the first virtual conversation of a series of dialogues with young people. The objective is to engage more youth, businesses, organizations, and governments.
Watch the main highlights of the session on 15 July and join the conversation by following Generation Unlimited on Twitter: @_genunlimited, Instagram: @genunlimited, and use the hashtags #YouthSkills #GenUnlimited #WYSD2020.
