New Delhi, July 15, 2022: World Youth Skills Day emphasizes the need to equip the youth with skills that make them employable, able to deliver stellar work, and become job creators. As the world revives from the pandemic, World Youth Skills Day 2022 is a chance to assess the need for skill development in a world undergoing remarkable socio-economic and technological changes.

The pandemic might have disrupted the pace of skill development and there might be considerable ground to be covered to upskill youth in preparing them for a better tomorrow. The job sector and various industries have undergone a major transformation during the pandemic and the demand for enhanced skills has only grown.

India has the largest youth population in the world with an average age of 29. Nearly 40 percent of the Indian population is aged 13 to 35 years. The youth (18-29 years) form 22 percent of the country’s population, totaling more than 270 million in number.

The Prime Minister has rightly reiterated that India would lead the fourth industrial revolution, supplying a high-quality workforce to the whole world. Skilling youth properly, across urban and rural India, will be the key to actualizing this vision and ensuring a strong, future-ready workforce for India.

India’s demographic dividend opportunity is the longest in the world, available over five decades, from 2005 to 2055. India has the potential to emerge as one of the largest consumer economies in the world too, thanks to emerging economic dynamics and favorable demographics. The young and working population brings many unique possibilities for India’s future too. They include social mobility, economic growth, and more inclusive and equitable society.

“Both employability and entrepreneurship are the keys in enabling today’s youth to take the nation into the future.  I feel convergence of endeavor among all the important players will play a significant role in the path of nation building,” says Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-founder, and Executive Director, of Smile Foundation.

Smile Foundation has been one of the leading organizations working in the areas of skilling and upskilling youth across India.

Regards,

Amit Sharma

Group Head, Policy Advocacy and Citizenship