Last Updated on 15 July 2023 IST | World Youth Skills Day 2023: World Youth Skills Day is celebrated to recognize the fact that youth acquire skills. It is organized by the Office of the Secretary-General of Youth, UNESCO, ILO and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka and Portugal to the UN. A visual event is planned to discuss the skills that young people need to acquire now and in the future. Learning skills undoubtedly help during whole life, learning Sat-Bhakti helps even after death in attaining Salvation. 

World Youth Skills Day 2023: Highlights

• On 15 July, World Youth Skills Day recognizes the fact that youth need to acquire skills
• It enhances their ability to make informed choices regarding employment
• The youth can also gain access to changing labor markets with new skills
• Year 2023’s theme is ‘skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future‘
• It is organized by the Office of the Secretary-General of Youth, UNESCO, ILO and the permanent mission of Sri Lanka and Portugal to the UN.
• A virtual event will be organized to discuss the skills that the youth need to acquire currently and in the future
• Learning skills of Sat-Bhakti undoubtedly helps whole life and after – to attain Salvation 

What is World Youth Skills Day?

On July 15 every year World Youth Skills Day is celebrated to mark the importance of youth empowerment, decent work and entrepreneurship. This event provides a unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), institutions, employers and workers organizations, policy makers and development partners.

World Youth Skills Day 2023 will take place in a challenging situation, with the continuation of the coronavirus pandemics that has led to widespread disruption to the TVET sector. Although the release of vaccines is promising, TVET still has a long way to go, especially in those countries that continue to be plagued by the spread of the disease. The development of youth skills will address many of the most common challenges arising from a crisis in which training has been disrupted in a way that has never been seen at the international level.

Young people aged 15-24 are most vulnerable to the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures and the workplace lead to loss of education and training. Major life cycle changes are made more difficult when they do not occur, including undergraduate education or TVET at secondary or higher level, self-sufficiency in residential, and labor market inclusion.

History of World Youth Skills Day

This day was adopted by a resolution of the UN General Assembly passed on December 18, 2014. Since then, the day has been celebrated by many member states. The first International Skills Day was celebrated on July 15, 2015.

The Importance of World Youth Skills Day

World Youth Skills Day recognizes the importance of equipping young people with skills that can help them become entrepreneurs, get jobs that give them decent work. The event also provides an opportunity to bring talented young people and employers, development partners and policy makers to the same place.

World Youth Skills Day 2023 Theme

This year’s theme is ‘skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future‘, which aims to celebrate youth resilience and resilience throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Theme is timely when the youth population is growing with rising unemployment affecting the labor market. The situation can be improved by technological developments and the entrepreneurial skills to cope with a changing world. UNESCO–UNEVOC has developed a practical guide to introduce entrepreneurial learning and vocational training.

The Role of Vocational Education and Technology

In the 2030 SDG Agenda, education and training are central to achieving. The vision of the Incheon Declaration: Education 2030 is fully documented by the Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure holistic and equitable education and improve access to lifelong learning for all.

• Education 2030 focuses on the development of technical and vocational skills development, in particular the access to affordable quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Through this acquisition of technical and vocational skills, reasonable work, and entrepreneurship; the abolition of gender inequality, and access to the poor of basic requirements can be achieved.
• TVET addresses the diverse economic, social, and environmental needs by assisting young people and adults in developing the skills needed for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. It also promotes equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and supports green economic transformation and environmental sustainability.
• It also helps to provide the necessary self-development skills. TVET also develops a response to changing skills demanded by companies and communities, increasing productivity, and raising wage rates. It reduces barriers to accessing the world of work through work-based learning and ensures that the skills acquired are recognized and validated.
• For low-skilled people, TVET offers skills development opportunities for the underprivileged or unemployed, young people in school, as well as people who are Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEETs).

World Youth Skills Day 2023: Practical Quotes

• There is no comparison between skills because all skills are useful and so is the skill of Eternal Devotion to attain Happiness and Salvation.
• Learning Sat-Bhakti skills undoubtedly helps your whole life and after. 
• More you learn, the better you live. Learn Sat-Bhakti only once and enjoy fruits throughout the journey.
• Talent is useful but skill makes it attractive. Skill of devotion from a SatGuru gives Eternal Happiness.
• A man is not judged by his appearance but by his abilities. A soul is judged by its devotion.
• The best trainer is Enlightened Saint SatGuru Rampal Ji to learn the skills of Sat-Bhakti.
• Cross the material world with Eternal Devotion Skills to reach the Ocean of Happiness – Satlok.

Facts About World Youth Skills Day

• Globally, one in five people are NEETs out of work, education and training. Three out of four NEETs are women.
• Between 1997 and 2017, the number of young people grew by 139 million and the number of new employees decreased by 58.7 million.
• About two in five young workers in the emerging and developing economy live on less than US $ 3.10 a day.
• Prior to the COVID crisis, young people were three times more likely than unemployed adults (25 years and older). Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, at present, more than one in 6 young people is out of work.
• For more than 100 years, the integration of grade learning and practical skills development has proven to be effective in TVET. In 1910, due to the typhoid epidemic an urgent need developed, Australia was first to introduce its TVET distance course to train health workers while on the job.

Skill India Mission

Skill India Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 July 2015. The mission aims at vocational training and certification of Indian youth for a better livelihood and respect in society.

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• This day is also the 5th anniversary of the founding of Skill India Mission. 
• Skill India is an initiative of the Government of India launched to equip the country’s youth with skills that enable them to be more employable and productive in their work.
• Skill India offers courses in a number of fields aligned with the standards recognized by both, industry and government under the National Skills Training Framework.

World Youth Skills Day 2023: Event’s Objectives

World Youth Skills Day 2023 will celebrate the resilience and creativity of young people throughout this COVID-19 critical time. Participants will look at how TVET systems adapt to the pandemic and the recession, look at how those programs can contribute to recovery, and consider the priorities they should pursue in the post-COVID-19 world. The first panel discussion will discuss the skills needed today and will be needed in the future, and the second panel will highlight the collaboration of TVET stakeholders to promote youth skills development.

• Assess youth status in terms of skills and performance during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; learn how they lived in this critical time; highlight youth success stories and resilience;
• Debate on skills development prospects and the employment sector as the economy recovers, and the implementation of national programs for rehabilitation and support for development partners.
• Explore how TVET stakeholders can work together to enhance skills development and help link the short-term need for economic recovery and the urgent need to accelerate the transition to sustainable development.
• In addition, a 21st-century global framework for life and work skills will be introduced. This new global framework reflects the ongoing transformation and opportunities that arise in the world of work. This contributes to the ILO’s efforts to promote personal and professional development for all, through lifelong learning.

World Youth Skills Day 2023: Campaign

The World Youth Skills Day 2023 is co-organized by UNESCO, ILO and the Office of the Secretary-General for Youth Mission and the permanent mission of Sri Lanka and Portugal to the UN. Online webinar will be organized for Transforming Youth Skills for the Future on 15 July 2023. It will highlight the ongoing focus on the Transforming Education Summit and efforts to its Thematic Action Track “Learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development”. The event will involve the youth, governments, UN agencies, the private sector, and civil society representatives. 

This year on World Youth Skills Day 2023, UNESCO-UNEVOC has collaborated with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for a campaign to spread the awareness about the importance of youth skills for the future.

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United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres says he “believes in the power of young people. Peace, economic dynamism, social justice, tolerance, all these and more depend on tapping into the potential of youth.”

Learn The Skill of Living A Purposeful Human Life

Human birth is rare and it is worth living purposefully. People do not even know the purpose of human life. Go to the refuge of an enlightened saint. Presently the only saint is Satguru Rampal Ji Maharaj who bestows Eternal Knowledge. Learning skills of Sat-Bhakti undoubtedly helps whole life and after – to attain Salvation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) For World Youth Skills Day 2023