Youth Skills for Peace and Development

11/7/2024,

World Youth Skills Day 2024

On July 15, 2024, welcome to the annual celebration of World Youth Skills Day 2024. A global initiative focused on empowering the next generation of leaders and innovators, this day emphasizes the immense potential of our youth to drive forward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On World Youth Skills Day in 2024, how will the skill levels of young Indians rise?

Increasing higher technical and vocational education is necessary to address the skills gap among India’s youth and improve youth employability.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed resolution 69/145 in November 2014 and recognized 15 July as World Youth Skills Day (WYSD).

The United Nations General Assembly is concerned about the increasing number of unemployed youth globally. In the year 2013, the estimated number of unemployed youth in the world was 74.5 million and most of them reside in developing countries.

After the passing of the UNGA resolution, this day reminds every year of the importance of making youth eligible for employment, convenient work and entrepreneurship.

In the 2030 Agenda for Long-Term Development, special emphasis has been laid on skill development and employment i.e. jobs for youth. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.4 calls for a significant increase in the number of youth and adults with the required skills, while Target 8.6 urges a significant reduction in the percentage of youth who are not in a position to get employment, education or training (NEET) in the next 15 years.

The Theme for Youth Skills Day 2024 is “Youth Skills for Peace and Development.”

What is the aim of World Youth Skills Day?

World Youth Skills Day aims to highlight the importance of equipping youth with skills to build a peaceful and sustainable future

This theme draws attention to providing skills to the youth. It is worth mentioning that skills are the qualifications that can make them comfortable to face challenges, improve their productivity in jobs, increase their employability and make them fully prepared for the future.

The theme of World Youth Skills Development Day 2024 is

“Youth Skills for Peace and Development.”

This theme draws attention to Peace and development providing skills to the youth. It is worth mentioning that skills are the qualifications that can make them comfortable to face challenges.

According to demographic estimates of the United Nations, there are 180 crore youth (15 to 29 years) in the world. 20 per cent of the world’s youth, i.e. about 36.6 crore youth population lives in India.

If we talk about India’s population, then according to new estimates, out of the total population of 130 crores in the year 2020, about 27 per cent are youth, while about 54.2 crore people are of working age (15 to 64 years).

India’s labour market is second only to China and is much larger than the United States and the European Union (EU). Not only this, India is expected to add 18.3 crore more people in this working age group between the years 2020 and 2050.

As a result, India’s share in the growing global workforce will increase to 22 per cent in the next three decades. The high rate of unemployment in India is also a big problem.

The youth unemployment rate in India was 54.1 per cent in 2021, up from 53.79 per cent a year earlier in 2020. As far as the employment rate is concerned, it has shown a slight improvement with 46.2 per cent in 2021 compared to 45.97 per cent in 2020. The share of salaried employment in the country fell from 21.9 per cent in 2018-19 to 21.3 per cent in 2019-20.

Approximately 90% of India’s workforce works in the unorganised sector. The low employability rate raises questions about the quality of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) infrastructure in India as well as the standards of secondary and higher education delivered.

In India, the unemployment rate in 2021 was 28.26%, compared to 24.9 % in 2020 and 23% in 2018. These numbers unequivocally show that India’s current institutional training system has to be redesigned and made more commercially viable.

In recent years, India has launched various initiatives, programs and schemes for skill development, vocational training and education under the Skill India Mission.

These include programs and schemes such as the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM), Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Indian Skill Development Service (ISDS), Jan Shikshan Sansthan, SANKALP. However, despite these schemes and programs, the unemployment rate among the youth of India is very high.

India had a 28.26 per cent unemployment rate in 2021 compared to 24.9 per cent in 2020 and 23 per cent in 2018. These numbers unequivocally show that India’s current institutional training framework has to be updated and made more commercially viable.

If we talk about the year 2019-20, out of 54.20 crore people, only 7.3 crore people i.e. about 13 per cent people got some kind of vocational training and only 3 per cent of them were fully skilled. If seen comparatively, 24 per cent of workers in China, 52 per cent in the United States, 68 per cent in Britain and 80 per cent in Japan are skilled.

Focus on skill shortage

If we look at the whole world, competition among industries and companies has increased. There is a global need for workers with such high skills and abilities that will enable them not only to drive innovation, product quality and efficiency but also to provide better performance.

Not only should it enable the youth to increase their productivity, but it should also increase their efficiency in production processes to such a level that it helps in improving the deficiencies in the entire value chain. Adopting the rapid technological changes requires special understanding, knowledge and skills to produce, use and spread the technologies.

India is currently going through an important phase of digital transformation. In such a situation, new economic opportunities will keep emerging for the youth to take advantage of in the coming times.

However, to take advantage of these opportunities, there is an urgent need to increase the skills and qualifications of the people in the country, especially the youth. Skill development and enhancing skill capabilities is a major challenge to unlock the possibility of a US$ 1 trillion digital economy by the year 2025.

Many reasons can be held responsible for the lack of skills in India. But the most important reason for this is the lack of skill development and education to identify and encourage the talent of children during schooling. Very low digital penetration, lack of digital competencies, lack of internet connections, lack of necessary devices and high cost of data have further aggravated this problem. 2.7 crore people representing 7 percent of the workforce in India need digital skills.

With a large “demographic dividend” in India – the majority of the country’s population is below 30 years of age and about 12.5 lakh new workers (in the age group of 15 to 29) are projected to join India’s workforce every month in the year 2024.

India will continue to face significant challenges in finding these new workers meaningful, well-paying jobs.

India enjoys a significant “demographic dividend,” with the bulk of its population being under 30, and an estimated 12.5 lakh additional workers (in the 15–29 age range) are expected to join India’s workforce each month by 2024.

Providing well-paid and productive jobs to these new workers will remain a major challenge for India. This opportunity can be harnessed through education and skill development.

The need for additional employment cannot be reduced by upskilling people. India is expected to create 2.3 million additional jobs by 2030, second only to the US. The US is expected to create 2.7 million additional jobs during this period. Estimates suggest that investments in reskilling and talent-building efforts could potentially add US$6.5 trillion to the global economy and India’s economy by US$570 billion by 2030.

People need to reinvent themselves and upskill to be successful in their businesses and professions and to be ready for future workplace demands.

Investment in human capital is necessary to sustain economic growth. A country’s competitiveness can increase as business and technological capabilities increase

Enhancing one’s skills can also contribute to poverty reduction by promoting social inclusion, productivity and decent work for all.

This policy outlines a 10-year vision for youth development in India to enhance the capacity of youth to drive economic growth. Skilling, upskilling and reskilling of individuals is essential to succeed in their jobs and employment and to acquire the ability to meet the work challenges of the future.

These three will also be the only key to enable them to take advantage of new technologies and new opportunities in the future. People need to skill up, reskill, and upskill to succeed in their careers and occupations and to be prepared for the demands of the workplace in the future.

World Youth Skills Day 2024 FAQs
What is Youth Skills Day?
Youth Skills Day is a United Nations-designated observance celebrated annually on July 15th to recognize the importance of equipping young people with skills.
On which date do we celebrate World Youth Skills Day?
What is the theme of Youth Skills Day 2024?
What is the aim of World Youth Skills Day?
How can young people contribute to peacebuilding?

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