Celebrate World Youth Skills Day with WorldSkills and UNESCO

This World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) marks an important milestone. As we celebrate 75 years of WorldSkills as the global stage for skills, 15 July is also the tenth anniversary of this international day of celebration, one that echoes our commitment to shining a spotlight on the importance of investing in youth skills development.

Skills are not just keys to employment, but foundations for innovation, resilience, and social progress. Through international competitions, capacity-building programmes, and partnerships that promote inclusive, high-quality skills development, our Members, Global Industry Partners, and supporters help turn the aspirations of World Youth Skills Day into real-world impact.

World Youth Skills Day is a celebration that amplifies our core belief: that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is instrumental in helping young people navigate today’s economic and social transitions, and in securing a more sustainable and equitable future.

This year, WorldSkills joins UNESCO-UNEVOC in celebrating World Youth Skills Day under the theme ‘Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills.’

As AI and digital tools reshape industries and redefine how we live and work, equipping young people with the right skills has never been more urgent. AI is already transforming TVET, from personalized learning through intelligent tutoring systems, to immersive, hands-on practice using virtual and augmented reality. It is streamlining certification, enhancing career guidance, and helping align curricula with rapidly evolving labour market demands.

Yet, without inclusive investment and systemic reform, these technologies risk deepening existing inequalities. To close the digital divide and create equitable access for all, especially marginalized youth, AI must be implemented with purpose, ethics, and inclusion at its core.

These are some of the ways in which you can contribute to WYSD celebrations:

• Join the hybrid event scheduled for 15 July 2025, including high-level panel discussions with UN officials, policymakers, educators, and youth leaders at the Learning Planet Institute in Paris and UN Headquarters in New York. WorldSkills Champions Trust Representatives Nurit Davidowicz and Shweta Ratanpura, and Audrey Norris from SkillsUSA will also be present. You can register to attend virtually via live stream, or to attend in-person in Paris (self-sponsored with limited availability).
• Youth Voices. You can submit a short showcasing how you are leveraging digitalization and artificial intelligence to transform your everyday life, education and training, trade, solve real-world challenges, and seize new opportunities in your community. Videos should be submitted before 30 June 2025. Those selected will be featured during the live hybrid event. For more information, consult the official WYSD website.
• Upskill: Enhance your competencies in AI and digital skills through the Global Skills Academy’s free self-paced, certifiable training with recorded lectures, interactive sessions and quizzes on digital skills, AI literacy, critical thinking and other skills for the future of work.

Learn more about World Skills Youth Day 2025 on UNESCO-UNEVOC’s website.