The youths globally are grappling with crowded challenges, empowering with right and result-oriented skills has become critical like never before in the ever-changing business landscape. So, as we celebrate World Youth Skill Day on July 15th, it’s essential to recognize the importance of powering up the young individuals around the world with matchless skills for sustainable employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and progress. The significant day is celebrated as annual event labelled by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014 and marked the first execution on July 15, 2015.

This year, the theme for World Youth Skills Day is ‘Youth Skills for Peace and Development’. The theme directly underscores the vital concept that young people are forerunners for fostering peace and development to battle against the core challenges around the world. This momentous initiative acknowledges that building and equipping the young people with performable and competitive skills is very vital for their personal progress, economic elevation, and integral improvement.

“By identifying the reasons for changes in skill requirements and understanding which skills may persist, companies will be able to implement more effective upskill-related strategies”, - Stephen Chin, Senior Director, Developer Relations, JFrog

So, without any delay let’s delve into the article to witness the transformative shift and impact evolving in acquiring right skills among young people in India.

“The future of humanity and our planet depends on young people. But it also depends on ensuring they have the skills to tackle today’s challenges and shape a more peaceful tomorrow”, - says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres while expressing on the occasion of World Youth Skill Day 2024.

Alignment of Early-Stage Education with Market Skills & Demands

The pursuit of knowledge in an individual arises from the skills that they acquire in the initial phase of education. Taking this fact serious and understanding the current situation, schools and colleges in India have already involved and engaged in empowering the young learners with future-ready-skills.

The majority of schools and colleges are enabling their students to experience the emergence of Generative AI & other advanced technologies like Data Science and Quantum Computing integrated projects in order to make them understand and analyze their future.

As the schools and colleges are known to bridge the gap between the current skill advancements and future requirements in the industry, they are going beyond the traditional skill-learning courses and allowing learners to acquire demanding skills for new-age job outlines such as Big data, Block chain, Automation, Robotics, Critical thinking, Cyber security and many others.

Ankit Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Unstop says, “More than 50% of the workforce is expected to be Gen Z in the next 5 years. So upskilling and giving them the right opportunities to grow is imperative. We’ve seen how they are eager to explore new things and equally focus on understanding what not to do. In fact, as per the Unstop Talent Report 2024, over 88% of HRs prefers skills over experience, academics, or references. This shows how recruiters are also shifting towards skill-based hiring.

And to help with this, at Unstop we’ve created a digital playground for these Gen Zs to learn, upskill, showcase their skills, gain CV points and get hired while unlocking their true potential throughout their academic journey.

From learning opportunities through self-paced courses and modules on Unstop Pro, a gamified platform to practice skills like coding, interview prep, skills assessments and more, to mentorships from industry leaders and experts who have gone through the same cycle as a student and know the problem areas that need to be addressed.

The best way for these students to showcase their skills is through competitions and challenges that push them to put their best foot forward and solve business problems that companies are facing.

Investing in Gen Z's upskilling isn't about securing a talent pipeline for our company, it's about building an unstoppable workforce for our nation. A generation equipped to tackle the challenges of the future, armed with the knowledge to solve complex problems, and the agility to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. That's the power we unleash when we empower Gen Z.

This isn't just about equipping them for the jobs of today, it's about preparing them to create the jobs of tomorrow. We're talking about a future driven by automation, artificial intelligence, and a globalized marketplace. Gen Z needs the skills to not just navigate this landscape, but to lead the charge.

Notably, in order to cultivate a progressive mindset among students to have a successful and long-term career in corporate and any other preferred sector or foster focus on entrepreneurship, the current academic curriculums are developing effective syllabus that covers the real-time and practical topics such as key components of decision-making, critical thinking, problem-solving, entrepreneurship, risk management, business innovation, ideation, networking strategies, experiential learning, and mindset training for running businesses.

Therefore, in the ever-changing market conditions, schools and colleges are empowering the learners by creating an essential learning landscape that boosts them to groom as an outstanding professionals in which they must be able to surpass the fluctuating technological and economic circumstances.

Moreover, nowadays many organizations and corporates are providing a high-ended skill programs and initiatives to their workforce for the betterment and expansion of productivity.

“Building a strong knowledge foundation is crucial for any 21st-century skills like collaboration and critical thinking. These skills are not in isolation of the knowledge content in subjects. They should be taught in integration with the knowledge content in the syllabus”, - Naveen Mandava, Co-Founder, ClassKlap

Stunning Performance by Skilled Youth in Startup System of India

Ophira Bhatia, Senior Director, India & Lead, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Corporate & Government Affairs, Mondelez International asserts, “As we celebrate World Youth Skills Day, Mondelez India is proud to highlight the work we have done to upskill and train young people over the years through our decade-long national CSR program, youth skilling is a key priority for us because we believe it has the transformative impact to enhance the long-term quality of life. Over the past decade, we have trained nearly 1,000 young individuals.

To build on our efforts, we partnered with the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) to launch a pilot project focused on providing skill training and placement opportunities. This project aims to benefit 660 young individuals in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, and Pune, Maharashtra, over the next year, targeting sectors such as Management, Hospitality & Tourism, Retail, IT-ITeS, and Logistics.

In Pune, we will train over 300 young people in the logistics, management, and IT-ITeS sectors, preparing them for roles such as documentation executive, office executive, and customer care executive. In Bhind, more than 300 candidates will receive training in management, retail, and tourism and hospitality for roles in security, retail, and front office, among others.

Aligned with this year's theme, 'Youth Skills for Peace and Development,' our efforts emphasize the transformative power of skill-building. In a world facing complex challenges, empowering youth with employment skills is crucial for enhancing livelihoods and income, thereby fostering sustainable and inclusive development”.

As the result of young minds of India stayed and still staying bullish on developing and acquiring right skills in their initial stages of education and working career, the Indian startup ecosystem is witnessing a surge of successful entrepreneurs and founders disrupting the industries with their innovations and leaving their benchmark in global stage.

Building the youth today, to radiate with the right skills as the gateway to making sure a rich & remarkable tomorrow

Also, the propagation of internet and digital technology has enabled the young entrepreneurs with applicable platforms and tools providing skills innovating and generating new business models. In addition, the increased exposure to internet applications and cost-effective smartphones have encouraged the young minds to design, develop, and launch their own tech-enabled solutions and services in the market with the consumption of practical industry-based skills.

A Few Young Milestone Achievers

Sreelakshmi Suresh, the Founder of eDesign Technologies founded her organization when she was just a 19-year old. After acknowledging the demands of online education and having hands-on experience in creative digital skills, she founded the company to empower young people with necessary abilities and information in digital world. Also she has received Youth Icon Award and National Child Award from the government of Kerala.

Aadit Palicha, a young entrepreneur making strides in startup landscape of India is the CEO of 10-minutes online grocery store Zepto. He co-founded Zepto when he was just 21 years. To mention, Palicha is a drop-out student who made his startup to turn zero to multi-crore valued company within few months through his expertise and skills about the industry. To mention, Palicha started his entrepreneurial journey when he was just 17 years old.

A prominent name in the new-age startup system of India and the Founder of Ola Cabs and Ola Electric, Bhavish Aggarwal founded the company at the age of 25 and now the startup holds the total net worth of around 1.88 billion by being a leader in the market.

The success behind above mentioned innovators & their innovations completely rely on their unwavering industry and entrepreneurial skills powered with the combination of advancements in technology, reforms in educational systems, easy funding access, broad networking, and market opportunities.

This productive landscape filled with skilled professionals is leading a positive flow in Indian startups established by youth and ranking India as a flourishing hub of entrepreneurial expansion and innovation.

Overall, it is obvious that the essentialness of youth procuring the right skills at a right time is crucial to nurture economic development and innovation as it leads to the emergence of numerous entities and startups into the country.

To meet the emerging demands in job market, deadlines & expectations as an employee, unemployment, and challenges in entrepreneurship journey, equipping the youths with adaptable and industry-based skills is vital.

Hence, through investing in the development of skills for young people, we can enable the upcoming generation to contribute broadly for their interpersonal growth as well as sustainable future!