Wayne Campbell | Transforming youth skills for the future

“By 2030, the youth population is set to increase by more than 78 million. At a time when the world of education and work is undergoing fundamental changes, we must reimagine our education systems and position the learner at the core of the transformation process. On World Youth Skills Day, let’s highlight the key role that TVET can play in helping young people build equitable, inclusive and sustainable societies.” – Friedrich Huebler, head of UNESCO.

According to Recovering Learning, a recent report from the Education Commission and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), only around one in four of the world’s young people are on track to learn the skills they need to get a job either through education, employment or training. This is problematic and clearly speaks to the work ahead for the education ministry in narrowing the skills gap among the youth population.

The report further states that with high rates of out-of-school young people and low attainment of secondary-level skills, countries worldwide are facing a skills crisis, with the majority of youth unprepared to take part in today’s workforce. The report states deep disparities across countries and among those from the poorest communities are increasing inequalities. In at least one in three low-income countries with available data, more than 85 per cent of young people are off-track in the secondary-level, digital, and job-specific skills attainment.

The reports added that data from 77 countries show that less than three-quarters of children aged between three and five years old are developmentally on track in at least three out of the four domains of literacy-numeracy, physical, social-emotional, and learning. Alarmingly, at approximately 10 years old, the majority of children in low- and middle-income countries are unable to read and understand a simple text. This speaks to the widening learning gap divide between developed and developing countries. These foundational skills are the building blocks for further learning and skills development.

Basic literacy and numeracy; transferable skills, including life skills and socio-emotional skills; digital skills, which allow individuals to use and understand technology; job-specific skills, which support the transition into the workforce; and entrepreneurial skills are essential for children to thrive. These skills are also critical for the development of societies and economies. UNICEF and the Education Commission are urging governments to reach every child with quality education and break down the barriers that put them at risk of dropping out by providing holistic support.

The growing global youth population, rising unemployment in many countries, and changes in the labour market due to technological developments are only a few of the reasons why policymakers must ensure that future generations are equipped with the entrepreneurial skills and mindsets they need in order to prepare themselves for this rapidly changing world.

Historically, our students have stayed away from careers in technical and vocational education and training (TVET), primarily due to the stigma which has been associated with those students who have opted for that pathway.

WORLD YOUTH SKILLS DAY

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. Since then, World Youth Skills Day has provided a unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, TVET institutions, firms, employers’ and workers’ organisations, policymakers and development partners.

World Youth Skills Day 2022 takes place along with concerted efforts towards socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that are interconnected with challenges such as climate change, conflict, persisting poverty, rising inequality, rapid technological change, demographic transition and others.

Young women and girls, young persons with disabilities, youth from poorer households, rural communities, indigenous peoples, and minority groups, as well as those who suffer the consequences of violent conflict and political instability, continue to be excluded due to a combination of factors.

In addition, the crisis has accelerated several transitions the world of work was already undergoing, which adds layers of uncertainty regarding the skills and competencies that will be in demand after the pandemic is overcome.

This year’s theme is ‘Transforming Youth Skills for the Future’.

IN PURSUIT OF A SKILLS-BASED SOCIETY

According to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the celebrations of World Youth Skills Day 2022 will highlight the ongoing focus on the Transforming Education Summit (September 2022) and contribute to the work being done under its Thematic Action Track ‘Learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development’.

The summit is aiming to mobilise political ambition, action, solutions and solidarity to transform education: to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; to reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow, and to revitalise national and global efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal #4, which addresses quality education and the promotion for lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The 2019 Global Competitiveness Report ranks Jamaica 36th out of 141 countries in terms of the quality of vocational training, but 93rd out of 141 on digital skills among the country’s active labour market. There needs to be a greater role for TVET to address youth unemployment.

According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), youth unemployment (14-24) in Jamaica currently stands at 15.5 per cent in April 2022, representing a decline of 8.6 percentage points. There needs to be long-term vision for Jamaica’s TVET policy, especially as we are in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution represents a fundamental change in the way we live, work and relate to one another. It is a new chapter in human development, enabled by extraordinary technology advances commensurate with those of the first, second and third industrial revolutions. These advances are merging the physical, digital and biological worlds in ways that create both huge promise and potential peril.

The speed, breadth and depth of this revolution is forcing us to rethink how countries develop, how organisations create value and even what it means to be human. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is about more than just technology-driven change; it is an opportunity to help everyone, including leaders, policymakers and people from all income groups and nations, to harness converging technologies in order to create an inclusive, human-centred future.

The Jamaica Education Transformation Commission report chaired by Professor Orlando Patterson states educational disparity is chronic in the island, considerably worsened by the pandemic. There are two extremely different school systems in the country – one that is world-class and serves mainly the ‘haves’; the other, pertaining to the vast majority, that serves the ‘have-nots’, and that is largely failing.

The report posits that the Jamaica education systems face two major challenges: the need to train students to function in a technologically based economy, and the need to help solve its catastrophic problem of crime, including unusual levels of violence toward females, children and persons with non-traditional sexual and gender orientations. Hence, the curriculum requires as much attention to social and emotional learning as to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) so as to engender respect for human life and a sense of responsibility and civility in human relations.

INTEGRATED APPROACH

If we are truly serious about technical and vocational education and training, then there needs to be a wider consultative youth integrated approach.

Obviously, there is still a place for a university degree; however, we need to interrogate the societal biases we continue to harbour regarding technical and vocational education and training. The time is now for the Jamaican society to move towards the pursuit of a skills-based society in order to assists our youth in making better decisions about their future.

It is time for a more holistic approach to be taken regarding technical and vocational education and training in the society. Our policymakers must continue to pursue plans to inspire the youth to learn new skills as well as to raise awareness around youth skills in order to better prepare our youth for their futures.

In the words of Antonio Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations: young people are drivers of change and must be fully engaged in decisions affecting their future.

Happy #WorldYouthSkillsDay

- Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and/or gender issues. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and waykam@yahoo.com. @WayneCamo