Every year, the 15th of July marks World Youth Skills Day, a day dedicated to supporting young people in their educational and professional journeys, providing them with opportunities to develop and achieve after school and university.
This day highlights that we need to equip young people with the relevant skills for employment so that they are prepared for various work settings, ensuring they have access to the right tools to succeed.
This day was first brought to life in 2014 by the United Nations General Assembly to address the issues and challenges related to youth unemployment worldwide.
In this day and age, young people are exposed to different problems, such as consistent economic inequality – which affects the breadth of opportunities, the disruptions to education caused by different conflicts, and the consuming online environment that favours and encourages negativity.
That’s why we need to offer support where we can so that young people can still achieve success in such turbulent and concerning conditions.
How should we be providing help?
World Youth Skills Day provides the perfect opportunity for us all to pull together in supporting young people and their future, and there are various ways in which we can ensure they are faced with high-quality opportunities.
Here are some main focal points to consider in order to provide young people with a brighter future:
Enhancing job quality
Our jobs serve the purpose of more than simply providing an income, and more should be done to encourage higher-quality job roles that offer career growth, skill development and personal fulfilment. Employers need to invest in creating a positive and supportive culture, in providing fair wages, and in ensuring the mental and physical wellbeing of staff is cared for and protected.
Investing in skills development
Skills development is another crucial aspect of job quality. We need to put emphasis on expanding Vocational Education and Training (VET), ensuring that they are in line with market needs to supply young people with the appropriate skills.
Increasing employment rates
With increasing unemployment comes the need to create more job opportunities, which can be done by supporting entrepreneurship, fostering public-private partnerships, and opening up more internship and apprenticeship placements.
Securing school-to-work transitions
We must also prioritise creating clear and effective pathways from education to employment. This can be achieved through work-based learning, a very effective way of gaining practical and hands-on experience. Educational bodies should also focus on regularly updating curricula to accurately reflect the skills and knowledge necessary in the modern job market.
Accurate job matching
A young person will only enjoy the benefits of better job quality and a higher percentage of opportunities if they can effectively match their skills and interests to these roles. That’s why schools and universities should allocate resources to providing students with career guidance and counselling so that they can explore different opportunities and career paths.
Support Education with Bookmark
As a leading education recruitment partner, here at Bookmark we can find top end talent and highly sought after opportunities for those looking for their next member of the team or their next role.
This World Youth Skills Day, consider working with us to find your next exciting career opportunity, or to support you in recruiting for new and eager-to-learn individuals. Contact us today and we will discuss your next steps.
