This year, on the 15th July, we celebrate World Youth Skills Day. Declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014 as an official observance day, today recognises the importance of giving young people the right skills to prepare them for the future and enable them to get decent work.
In the journey towards sustainability, it is invaluable that collectively we focus on equipping the young with the right skills, so that they can get good employment. This is what today is all about with this year’s theme being: ‘skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future’. This theme is designed to highlight the importance of teachers and educators in providing training and learning opportunities for the young to help them engage with the labour market. By investing in the young, we can unlock a more sustainable future in which young people can be catalysts for change.
Indeed, the United Nations’ 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) SDG 4 calls for ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and [the promotion of] lifelong learning opportunities for all’. The education of young people is, therefore, a key piece in the puzzle to achieve sustainable development.
However, another element in this journey to sustainability concerns the job market itself. According to the UN, current estimates suggest that ‘600 million jobs would have to be created over the next 15 years to meet youth employment needs’. It is, therefore, imperative that our economy grows to accommodate everyone. This provision of work is a necessity, as well, given that concerns the right to ‘decent work’ for all. True sustainability can only be reached once everyone has access to good work. SDG 8