Future-Ready Youth: Accenture joins Microsoft, others as Core Partners of UNICEF Generation Unlimited's Passport to Earning
Commitment from Core Partners Accenture, Dubai Cares, Global Affairs Canada and Microsoft will enable the global learning-to-earning programme to prepare 8 million young people for a digitally powered world of work.
New York, April 24 – To mark the occasion of Girls in ICT Day, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited is pleased to announce that Accenture has joined Microsoft, Global Affairs Canada and Dubai Cares as Core Partners supporting the global learning-to-earning programme Passport to Earning (P2E) with a multi-year commitment. The programme has already trained and certified over four million young people in skills for the future of work. With the support from these Core Partners, P2E is geared to achieve its ambition of training and certifying 8 million young people, including over 4 million youth in AI and digital skills, by 2027.
P2E offers free, market-relevant, certifiable skills that prepare young people for a digitally powered and rapidly changing world of work. This addresses the skills gap preventing youth from accessing jobs, starting businesses, or pursuing further training. With digital transformation reshaping industries, mastering AI skills is crucial, yet about 85 per cent of youth in emerging economies and low-income countries are off-track in gaining digital skills. The investment and expertise of the public-private Core Partners will enable P2E to scale high-quality learning pathways, while better positioning young people to pursue advanced training, secure jobs, and explore self-employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Since its activation in 2022, P2E has trained and certified more than 4.28 million young people, including 2.14 million young women, in digital, financial, and employability skills. This underscores the programme's commitment to equal access to skills and opportunities, with about half the P2E cohort being adolescent girls and young women. While the initial phase focused on providing skilling opportunities to young people at scale, the next phase supported by Core Partners will build on this success while strengthening linkages to accessing livelihoods in a digital and AI-powered economy. P2E is currently being implemented in Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda and the Philippines.
“At Accenture, we're incredibly proud of our collaboration with Passport to Earning since co-launching it three years ago. Providing free, in-demand, certifiable AI and digital skills to youth positions them for earning opportunities and improves their livelihoods. We look forward to the next chapter of our collaboration, scaling this partnership to new countries and levels of shared success.”
“Public-Private-Youth Partnerships are critical to mobilize our collective technology, resources and expertise to help young people successfully transition from learning to earning. Since Microsoft began supporting Passport to Earning in 2021, along with other core partners, we have seen the positive impact of using technology in innovative ways and the power of partnerships. We are proud to support Generation Unlimited, so that young people - especially those with limited access to opportunities – develop the skills they need to earn and thrive in an increasingly AI-powered economy.”
P2E leverages a digital platform to offer tailored learning opportunities for young people aged 15 to 24 adapted for their needs and context. By collaborating with young learners, local governments and the private sector, P2E curates future-ready content designed to help young people transition from learning to earning.
“Equipping young people - especially girls - with the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world is no longer optional; it is imperative. Generation Unlimited’s Passport to Earning (P2E) is a powerful example of how collective action can close the digital skills gap and unlock opportunities for youth globally. At Dubai Cares we believe that lasting change happens through cross-sector collaboration, where innovation, expertise, and investment converge to create scalable, sustainable solutions. By investing in initiatives such as P2E, where Dubai Cares had the privilege to be amongst the first partners, we are shaping an inclusive future where every young person, particularly girls, is empowered to thrive in the ever-evolving world of work.”
“P2E is a powerful example of what’s possible when diverse partners come together to create forward-thinking solutions that equip young people to thrive as employees and entrepreneurs in a digital world. The rapidly digitalizing global economy and accelerating AI revolution is widening the skills gap globally, and but our expanding Public-Private-Youth partnership is uniquely positioned to meet this challenge—and I look forward to seeing it drive lasting impact for the world’s young people.”
See also:
- UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited Announces New Phase of Global Partnership with Accenture, Connecting 580,000 Youth to Skilling and Earning Opportunities
- Accenture, Dubai Cares, Microsoft and UNICEF launch digital education platform under Generation Unlimited to help address global learning crisis
- Canada joins Generation Unlimited as Lead Government Partner In Landmark Announcement
*UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.
Additional resources
About Generation Unlimited
Launched by the UN Secretary-General at the 2018 UN General Assembly, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited is a leading global Public-Private-Youth Partnership on a mission to skill and connect the world’s 1.8 billion young people to opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, and social impact. The partnership brings together global organisations and leaders including Heads of State, CEOs, Heads of UN agencies, and civil society champions with young people to co-create and deliver innovative solutions on a global scale.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
