15 July is the World Youth Skills Day

RANJAN K BARUAH

Skills for a Shared Future

All of us are talking about skills, be it basic skills in daily life to advanced technological skills. We have realized that mere academic qualification is nothing in the present day context as we must be skilled enough to be successful in our life. A skill is a learned or innate ability to execute tasks efficiently and consistently. There are different types of skills like life skills, vocational skills, recreational skills, technical skills, employability skills, etc.

We should be aware that around the world approximately 273 million children and young people are out of school, 1 in 5 individuals aged 15–24 are not in employment, education or training (NEET), 28.2% (nearly 1 in 3) of young women are in NEET, compared to 13.1% of young men, 22% of jobs will transform by 2030 due to technological disruption ,fewer than 1% of poor rural women complete secondary school in many countries, 70% of youth (450 million) are economically disengaged due to lack of adequate skills for the labour market.

The situation is not the same in all the countries but the world of work is changing rapidly around the world. Artificial intelligence, the green transition and growing social complexity are transforming how we learn, work and participate in society. We can’t think of a future due to rapid progress in AI and to thrive in this changing landscape, young people need more than technical skills alone. Young people need a balanced set of competencies that combines technical, digital, AI, green, social-emotional and civic skills with the human qualities that technology cannot replace.

 In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15^th July as World Youth Skills Day (WYSD), to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. This year’s theme "Skills for a shared future",  spotlight the urgent need for innovative youth skills programmes—initiatives that empower young people not only to adapt, but to lead with empathy, bridge cultural divides, build resilience, and actively shape a more sustainable and inclusive tomorrow.

WYSD is important as it focuses on many integral issues as we know that youth unemployment remains a major economic and social challenge worldwide. Even for those who work, decent jobs remain scarce. Over half of young workers are in informal employment, and in low-income countries, three in four hold only self-employment or temporary jobs. Investment in green and blue sectors could create 8.4 million youth jobs by 2030, but these must come with decent working conditions – including fundamental rights like equal pay, collective bargaining, and protection from harassment.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres on his message on the occasion WYSD said that “unlocking the full potential of younger generations requires massive investment in inclusive quality education and training. Closing the skills gap can help create decent jobs and sustainable livelihoods at scale. ”

There is no universally agreed international definition of the youth age group. For statistical purposes, however, the United Nations—without prejudice to any other definitions made by Member States—defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. This definition, which arose in the context of preparations for the International Youth Year (1985) (see A/36/215), was endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 36/28 of 1981. According to the National Youth Policy in India, youths are young people aged between 15-29 years.

In India, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship completes 12 Years of Skills, Scale and Transformation; Building One of the World's Largest Skilling Ecosystems. We should know that more than 13,888 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) operational across India, more that 56.08 lakh apprentices engaged since 2016, more than 1.64 crore youth trained under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), more than 1.5 crore candidates registered on Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH).

Over the past twelve years, the Ministry has built a comprehensive skilling ecosystem that integrates vocational education, industry-led training, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship development, digital public infrastructure and international workforce mobility into a unified national framework. SIDH has emerged as an integrated digital public infrastructure for skills, bringing together skilling, jobs, apprenticeships and entrepreneurship opportunities on a single platform. Programmes such as SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness) have further accelerated AI awareness and preparedness among learners and educators with 50+ AI Courses and Qualifications across sectors, recording over 4.5 lakh enrolments since launch across emerging technology domains.

It’s time to be ready and equipped with a new set of skills as this year’s theme reminds us that we have to move beyond mere digital literacy to artificial intelligence and 21^st century skills to move ahead of our peers . There must be investment from the government and other agencies to encourage young people with their innovations. On this WYSD, let’s commit to enhance the skills ecosystem for Viksit Bharat and build a better tomorrow for all.

(With direct inputs from UN/PIB publication and feedback may be sent to bkranjan@gmail.com)