World Youth Skills Day 2020

Jul 15, 2020  10:00am

(GMT -5:00) Eastern Time

Event URL:  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QwsY-_pPROezU_aozMNNrg
Hosted by: United Nations

The importance of developing skilled youth is at the core of this year’s message for World Youth Skills Day. Several virtual events focused on the theme of “Skills for a Resilient Youth” will take place. On 15 July, join an online panel discussion  organized by the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka to the United Nations, together with UNESCO, ILO and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.

Skills for a Resilient Youth in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond

World Youth Skills Day 2020 will take place in a challenging context. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures have led to the worldwide closure of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, threatening the continuity of skills development.

It is estimated that nearly 70% of the world’s learners are affected by school closures across education levels currently. Respondents to a survey of TVET institutions, jointly collected by UNESCO, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank, reported that distance training has become the most common way of imparting skills, with considerable difficulties regarding, among others, curricula adaptation, trainee and trainer preparedness, connectivity, or assessment and certification processes.

Prior to the current crisis, young people aged 15-24 were three times more likely than adults to be unemployed and often faced a prolonged school-to-work transition period. In post-COVID-19 societies, as young people are called upon to contribute to the recovery effort, they will need to be equipped with the skills to successfully manage evolving challenges and the resilience to adapt to future disruptions.