15 July: World Youth Skills Day

The World Youth Skills Day is observed every year on 15 July across the world. UNESCO’s theme for WYSD 2019 is- Learning to learn for life and work.

The day 15 July 2019 also marks 4th anniversary of National Skill Development Mission also known as Skill India Mission which was launched on 15 July in 2015. At present about 1 crore youth are being imparted skills training annually under Skill India Mission.

About World Youth Skills Day

Background: On 18 December 2014, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by consensus adopted, a resolution lead by Sri Lanka, and declared 15th July as World Youth Skills Day. Sri Lanka initiated this resolution, with assistance of G77 (Group of 77 Countries) & China, to highlight at global level, the importance of youth skills development.

Objective: To achieve better socio-economic conditions for today’s youth that would act as a means of addressing challenges of unemployment and under employment.

Organised by: The World Youth Skills Day is traditionally organized by Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka, together with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), ILO (International Labour Organisation) and Office of Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.

Importance: WYSD is important because in today’s world rising youth unemployment is seen as one of the most significant problems facing economies and societies, for developed and developing countries alike.

Way Ahead: Nearly 73 million youth are currently unemployed, with 40 million joining labour market every year. To tackle this humongous unemployment problem, at least 475 million new jobs need to be created over next decade.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2019