Wayne Campbell | Skills for a Shared Future

“Unlocking the full potential of younger generations requires massive investment in inclusive quality education and training. Closing the skills gap can help create decent jobs and sustainable livelihoods at scale.” – UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Alarmingly, 273 million children and young people are out of school. 

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. 

This year’s theme is ‘Skills for a Shared Future’. The global observance focuses on empowering young people with the technical, AI, digital, green, and social-emotional skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing labour market and drive sustainable development. This global observance highlights the role of youth as change makers in building inclusive and resilient societies.

The United Nations (UN) states that the world of work is changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence (AI), the green transition and growing social complexity are transforming how we learn, work and participate in society. 

To thrive in this changing landscape, young people need more than technical skills alone. They need a balanced set of competencies that combines technical, digital, AI, green, social-emotional and civic skills with the human qualities that technology cannot replace.

IMPORTANCE OF WORLD YOUTH SKILLS DAY

Youth unemployment remains a major economic and social challenge worldwide. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO)'s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024, the global youth unemployment rate fell to 13 per cent in 2023 – a 15-year low and below the pre-pandemic level of 13.8 per cent. However, recovery has been uneven: in the Arab States, East Asia, and South-East Asia, rates were higher in 2023 than in 2019. 

Meanwhile, one in five young people globally – and over a quarter of young women – were NEET (not in employment, education, or training), with young women's NEET rate (28.1 per cent) more than double that of young men (13.1 per cent). 

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s most recent Labour Force Survey put our own youth unemployment rate at 11.7 per cent as of April 2026, with young women bearing a heavier share of that burden than young men. Even for those who work, decent jobs remain scarce. Over half of young workers are in informal employment, and in low-income countries, three in four hold only self-employment or temporary jobs.

Investment in green and blue sectors could create 8.4 million youth jobs by 2030, but these must come with decent working conditions – including fundamental rights like equal pay, collective bargaining, and protection from harassment.

THE ROLE OF TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Education and training are central to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Importantly, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #4 addresses inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Over the years, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been stigmatised in many educational circles. There is a prevailing school of thought that suggests that less brilliant students are the ones who should do TVET studies. This myopic approach to education must be revisited.  

The UN states that Education 2030 devotes considerable attention to technical and vocational skills development, specifically regarding access to affordable quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); the acquisition of technical and vocational skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship; the elimination of gender disparity and ensuring access for the vulnerable. 

In this context, TVET is expected to address the multiple demands of an economic, social and environmental nature by helping youth and adults develop the skills they need for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship, promoting equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and supporting transitions to green economies and environmental sustainability.

TVET can equip youth with the skills required to access the world of work, including skills for self-employment. TVET can also improve responsiveness to changing skill-demands by companies and communities, increase productivity and increase wage levels. 

TVET can reduce access barriers to the world of work, for example, through work-based learning, and ensuring that skills gained are recognised and certified. TVET can also offer skills development opportunities for low-skilled people who are under- or unemployed, out of school youth and individuals not in education, employment and training (NEETs).

CARICOM

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) actively observes World Youth Skills Day to emphasise equipping Caribbean youth with 21st-century skills for employment and regional development. CARICOM collaborates with regional entities like the HEART/NSTA Trust to advance Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to build a resilient, future-ready workforce. 

World Youth Skills Day is used as a strategic platform to tackle key regional priorities, particularly reducing high import bills through agriculture, closing the digital divide, and fostering youth entrepreneurship across CARICOM member states. Even so, many of today’s youth lack hope. Global education systems lack equity and therefore some youths, especially those in rural areas are disadvantaged and marginalised. 

The statistics from the United Nations are disturbing. 86 per cent of students do not feel prepared for an AI enabled workplace. 70 per cent of youth (450 million) are economically disengaged due to lack of adequate skills for the labour market. Fewer than one per cent of poor rural women complete secondary school in many countries. 

Skills are much more than keys to employment. Skills are transformative tools that can empower generations and build wealth. There needs to be a global movement to rekindle hope among our youth.   

On this World Youth Skills Day, let us be mindful that youth can be a positive force for development when provided with the knowledge and opportunities they need to thrive. 

In particular, young people should acquire the education and skills needed to contribute in a productive economy; and they need access to a job market that can absorb them into the labour force.

Happy World Youth Skills Day.

- Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. Email feedback to waykam@yahoo.com and columns@gleanerjm.com. ONLINE ONLY COMMENTARY.