It’s a Monday morning July 15th. I logged into my computer at work and first thing I noticed that I have received an email saying, “Celebrate World Youth Skills Day and register for our Webinar”. I am not going to mention the name of the organization who has sent me this, but they have done a remarkable job in less than five years.
As per the global population, today 18 percent of the population is youth between 15 to 24 years of age. I have experienced some harsh realities during my career and travelling. Youth these days are facing a lot of problems in terms of unemployment and skills development, not only in developing economies but also developed economies. Both are significant problems and aligned with each other because if youth does not have an appropriate skill then there will be higher chances to remain unemployed. This has been suggested by OECD surveys. The informal sector is considered to be a huge sector to provide excess jobs in many countries especially developing countries. In South Asia and some parts of Africa this is a popular and known fact that three out of four workers are subject to vulnerable employment conditions.
If I talk about Sustainable Development Goals, you will be familiar with this term because it is popular in international community and everybody is ambitious to achieve 2030 Agenda for SDGs. It has also been observed that the 17 SDGs; No poverty, zero hunger, quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, climate change, peace and justice etc. are interconnected.
Education and Training is a vital part to achieve skill development goals which will lead to lesser unemployment, eventually it will help reducing poverty and achieve SDGs. It leads to solve numerous issues faced during this time period. TVET Education is considered to be a fundamental part for today’s youth as it is disappearing due to technological advancements. Although there are several technical skills which are in demand but most of them are becoming obsolete, therefore in order to compete with upcoming trends we need to educate ourselves and keep upskilling. This sector has anticipated to accommodate various challenges e.g. socio-economic and environmental challenges which are needed of today’s youth by providing them skills and awareness; decent work, entrepreneurship, reduced inequalities, clean and affordable energy, responsible consumption & production and sustainability.
In the light of TVET and Skills Development, it is a pathfinder to the universe of work. It can prepare you to work for an organization and even for self-employment. TVET gives you an opportunity to grow in the world of work and it also improves your ability to receptiveness. It is a chance given to the economies to formalize their informal sector and to certify their workforce through standardization of skills as per global demand. This will prepare the workforce for industrial demand-driven skills, which should be acceptable across regions and continents. This way, it will be a lot more easier to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and TVET can provide numerous opportunities to low-skilled people who are under or unemployed.