World Youth Skills Day 2024 celebrates skills for peace and development

Yesterday, 15 July, marked World Youth Skills Day 2024, an initiative started by UNESCO-UNEVOC nine years ago to champion the youth changing the world through skills. This year, young people, educators, industry representatives, and skills experts took part in a hybrid event, hosted by UNESCO-UNEVOC and WorldSkills, to share their perspectives on the theme “Youth Skills for Peace and Development.”

Priscilla Gatonye, Programme Officer for Inclusion and Youth Employability, UNESCO-UNEVOC welcomed delegates by wishing them a “Happy World Youth Skills Day.” But she quickly moved to reflections on the volatility of our world and the rapid changes we are experiencing through the digital and green transformations. Setting the agenda for the day, she posed the powerful question, “How do we continue to develop a peaceful co-existence?”

She handed over to Friedrich Huebler, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC to officially open the programme. His remarks highlighted the important ways that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) can promote peace, citizenship, and sustainable development. As well as the ability to find decent work and productive employment, he emphasized how important skills are in creating truly global citizens.

He said, “TVET fosters a sense of global citizenship by exposing young people to diverse perspectives and cross-cultural understanding, empathy, and co-operation. As global citizens, young people can appreciate the interconnectedness of our world and actively address global challenges.”

David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International, used his opening remarks to call on the gathered delegates and help elevate the value of skills so more people invest in them. He said, "Our goal is to put TVET on the top of the global agenda and you are all invited to join us. World Youth Skills Day is an important opportunity to reflect on the positive change that skills make in our world. We must not underestimate the power of skills. Put simply, we must do more to let young people know how important skills are. Skills are essential to the future prosperity of our countries, and to the sustainability of our communities and our planet.”

A key part of the programme was the release of new findings from the WYSD 2024 Youth Survey, which attracted 1,410 respondents from 69 countries. There was encouraging gender representation with 54% of respondents identifying as women and 45% identifying as men, with 1% preferring not to say.

Key insights from the survey were highlighted to the delegates including:

• Job opportunities and practical training are key motivators for young people, with family and role models playing crucial roles.
• Engineering, manufacturing, construction, and ICT fields remain male-dominated skills areas, while education shows more of a gender balance.
• Only 33% of young respondents say they have or are training to acquire green skills, indicating a significant area of potential growth.
• Nearly four in five (78%) of young people say they have used AI-powered tools or platforms during their training and education.
• Environmental sustainability and climate change are the top societal concerns for young people, followed by poverty, conflict, and violence.
• Nearly 50% believe the lack of peace affects their education, highlighting the link between social stability and learning.

Young people shared their motivations for wanting to be agents of change, which included a “sense of hope for a better future”, “climate change”, “friends and family”, “desire for justice for all”, “making a difference”, and “to have a peaceful community”. One young person responded, “All I wanted was an opportunity to make my dreams come true and see the world be transformed so that all people can live well.” Another affirmed, "Every small action counts, and collective efforts can lead to significant positive impacts.”

Experts used the remaining session to build on these survey results, addressing many of those concerns and aspirations. Efrem Bycer, Sustainability and Workforce Policy Lead at LinkedIn, explained the urgency of investing in green skills. He highlighted, “Demand for workers with green skills is accelerating twice as rapidly as the growth in supply. Meanwhile, three in five young people say they want to spend time working to fight climate change. We need to connect these programmes to their big-picture impact. Young people need to see how they can tackle climate change through green skills development.”

Priyardashani Joshi, Senior Project Officer (Research) at GEM report, focused on gender inequality and the role of young people in decision-making. She emphasized that young people are the leaders of social change and climate action, and they need to have seats in relevant decision-making spaces. She said, “It is vital that decision-makers work with youth to establish broad frameworks for digital competencies that provide guidance for the skills all learners should acquire, irrespective of their gender.”

In a panel discussion on gender disparities in skills, Sophie Charlotte Keunecke, a WorldSkills bronze Medalist in Robot Systems Integration, shared, “The biggest challenge with bringing girls into STEM is that most people consider it as a potential career, but do not know how to enter. Events like World Youth Skills Day 2024 provide opportunities for people to do workshops and listen to people, so they can learn where to start. It is important because you need STEM in every domain. Sustainability only works with science. We need it for our future.”

From green technologies to gender equity in STEM, World Youth Skills Day 2024 showcased the ways young people can – and already are – tackling global challenges head-on. As participants shared their hopes and experts offered insights, one thing was apparent. Empowering young people with the right skills will not just shaping individual lives, but build a more peaceful, sustainable world for everyone.

Watch a recording of the event for World Youth Skills Day 2024 on YouTube.