Youth primarily consists of the age group from 15 to 24, according to the statistical reports of United Nations. In December 2014 the United Nations General Assembly adopted an aim to promote socio-economic conditions for today’s youth, to mark the challenges of unemployment and underemployment across the world. World Youth Skills day is celebrated widely on the 15th of July.
The aim of UN was to encourage more awareness on the issues of skill development and to raise discussion on the importance of vocational, technical education, and training as well as other related skills, globally.
The Opportunity
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide closure of academic institutions; this is impacting the flow of education delivery. Students started losing their interest in the formal education leading to external skill development in the youth. Digitalization and globalization have led to create opportunities for skill development in multiple streams.
A quarter of the world’s workforce consists of youth. Present day youth are enormously productive, they are constantly developing their skills in a variety of fields. The internet is performing a significant role in overcoming problems faced by youth in expanding their knowledge in a particular field.
Youth studying in schools or colleges are exposed to mobile phones, with the internet access, at an exceedingly young age. Mobile phones have proved to be fulfilling a chief role in acquiring skills. There are many applications, channels, games, activities available on the internet which is supporting them to grow. They are capable to grasp those things easily, in the world of the internet they can acquire any skills for free just by tapping on the screen. This is the reason why we can see a spike in the intelligence of youths these days.
According to the International Labour Organization, since 2017, the amount of youth not in employment, education, and training (NEET) are rising. In 2016, there were 259 million young people classified as NEET the number than increased in 2019 to 267 million and is projected to grow to around 273 million in coming future.
India noticed rising unemployment rates, even after benefiting from formal education most of the youth population is unemployed. The ones with essential skills are hired, this can be a concerning issue if not treated early. Simultaneously people are witnessing that the youth are emerging with extraordinary skills. This can be a solution to beat unemployment and underemployment in India.
Youths are exploring their interests in diverse fields of science, arts, and commerce. They are getting better at it, after which they start working for projects by promoting their skills in return of money which is known as freelancing. Vocational and technical courses are introduced by the government where the students need to study the subject in which they are most interested and expand their career in to the same.
Why should world youth skills day be celebrated?
To appreciate and promote the skills and contributions of youth is extremely important. This encourages and drives their motivation for which they are passionate about. Skill development awareness is necessary because it generates interest in the youth. The youth start to compare themselves to their peers, so there is a more decent chance of developing as a whole.
If the youth are skilled enough then we can see fever unemployment rates in India. The celebration of youth skills day has sparked interest in many ambitious students who are pursuing their passion and turning it into their profession. We can witness growing freelancers in the near future which fulfills the purpose to celebrate ‘World Youth Skills Day.’
