The world youth skills day is very important for worldwide youth. Young people today are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. In addition, they are exposed to low-skilled jobs, greater inequality in the labour market and greater insecurity in the transition from school to work. In this regard, young women are more likely to be unemployed and earn lower wages than men and temporary jobs are also more widespread.
Consequently, education and training are key aspects to being successful in the labour market. Unfortunately, existing educational systems are unable to address the learning needs of many young people. The results of surveys conducted on this gap indicate that a large number of young people display low performance levels regarding basic skills. Therefore, one of the most prominent features in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development is job qualifications for young people. More specifically, 4.4 requires a substantial increase in the number of young people and adults who have the relevant skills.
With this in mind, 15 July is the World Youth Skills Day , and the United Nations is celebrating the occasion with a special event titled “Developing skills to improve youth employment.” Understanding what works to support young people in the labour market today and in the future through training and skills will be key to achieving the 2030 Agenda goals and will be the centre of this top level event. The event will be facilitated by the UN envoy on youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, and the opening speech will be delivered by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. The event has been jointly organised by the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka to the United Nations, UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
When: Friday, July 15, 2016 – 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 1
Follow the conversation on social media with #YouthSkills and #WYSD2016.
Please RSVP by clicking on the following link: goo.gl/zafA9M
The event will also be streamed LIVE on UN Web TV, starting at 10:00 a.m. ET: http://webtv.un.org/
