The United Nations General Assembly declared in 2014, that every 15th of July will now be known as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the importance of helping young people and equipping them with skills needed for employment and even entrepreneurship. This day will highlight and focus on the Transforming Education Summit which will be happening in September 2022.
This day gives young people the chance to work with policy partners, employers and educational programs, to learn the skills needed as we transition to a more sustainable development model. The youth population often faces many challenges when it comes to employment through lack of pay and lack of experience. These are just two examples amongst many challenges that hinders the employment of young people.
But what causes youth unemployment?
- Lack of qualifications and employability skills
- When young people have poor GCSE results in Maths and English, it makes it harder for them to obtain skilled jobs.
- Lack of graduate jobs
- Many leave university with fresh degrees but graduate jobs are short in supply which makes it harder to find a job.
- Job mismatch
- This happens when a worker does not correspond with their level of education, experience, skills or interests.
- Unrealistic salaries
- Young people starting out have unrealistic salaries based on university education which makes them want higher paying jobs without the right skills or experience.
- Cultural and social factors
- Youth unemployment is often higher among people who have a history of broken families, drug use or criminal record.
These are a few factors that cause youth unemployment but together we must find a solution to combat this.
The World Youth Skills day is however here to reduce unemployment, yet promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training for the youth, also known as TVET. These trainings have many advantages such as bringing better employment opportunities, higher income levels and more job satisfaction.
The youth of this world are the future leaders and workers that play a crucial factor in achieving national productivity for their country. The United Nations will celebrate World Youth Skills day by conducting various events and competitions online and in person now that covid restrictions have become relaxed.
Learning and growing
Learning new skills are crucial to everyone, everyone must grow to become better and it is very important in the journey of upskilling. We must talk about it on social media to spread awareness and offer guidance to other young people looking to learn the skills you may even know!
Refashion My Town also has a range of skills workshops for young people that teaches sewing, music, art and the issues of sustainability. We are also have many volunteer roles available that can help with future employment and here are different ways you can get involved:
- Helping with communications
- Fundraising
- Shop management
- Stock management
- Events organiser
To find out more, follow our socials @RefashionMyTown on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and email us at volunteers@refashionmytown.org for the latest volunteer roles and opportunities!
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