Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills

Ranjan K. Baruah

(The writer can be reached at bkranjan@gmail.com.)

 World Youth Skills Day

One of the common words in recent years is “skill” or “skill development.” In the last decade the term skill development has touched most of the youths around the world. Many governments, including India, have focused on skills development in recent years. In simple terms we can say that skill development is the process of acquiring and improving the knowledge, abilities, and expertise needed for a specific task or job. The definition might change as perspectives might change, but the fact is that skill is a must if we want to move ahead of our peers.

We should know that about 450 million youth (7 out of 10) are economically disengaged due to a lack of adequate skills to succeed in the labour market, and 86% of students do not feel adequately prepared for an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled workplace. Global data says that in 2022, over 40% of young people were not in employment, education, or training (NEET). While 40.3% of young men were projected to be employed, only 27.4% of young women had access to employment opportunities.

Though we use digital devices, the fact from around the world is that 90% of adolescent girls and young women in low-income countries are offline, and even in the world’s richest countries, only 1 in 10 fifteen-year-olds use digital devices for learning more than an hour a week. Globally, only 16% of countries have adopted laws addressing cyberbullying in education, with 38% of those enacted since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. This year marks the 10th anniversary since WYSD started a decade ago. This year’s theme focuses on ‘Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills.’

We should be aware that the fourth industrial revolution reshapes economies through AI; Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) must evolve to equip youth with future-ready skills. AI is transforming how we live, learn, and work—but it also poses serious risks if not implemented equitably. TVET can equip youth with the skills required to access the world of work, including skills for self-employment.

UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and the UN Youth Office are leading this year’s WYSD to highlight the urgent need to connect youth skills with real opportunities. From basic literacy to advanced digital and AI skills, empowering young people helps them not only adapt but also lead change.

There is no universally agreed international definition of the youth age group. For statistical purposes, however, the United Nations—without prejudice to any other definitions made by Member States—defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. According to our National Youth Policy, the upper age limit for youth is 29 in India. Today, there are 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years, accounting for 16 percent of the global population.

In India, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is responsible for coordination of all skill development efforts across the country, removal of disconnect between demand and supply of skilled manpower, building the vocational and technical training framework, skill up-gradation, and building of new skills and innovative thinking not only for existing jobs but also jobs that are to be created.

Skill India is an initiative of the Government of India that has been launched to empower the youth of the country with skill sets that make them more employable and more productive in their work environment. The Governing Council of the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) is chaired by the Prime Minister.

Skill India offers courses across 40 sectors in the country that are aligned to the standards recognised by both the industry and the government under the National Skill Qualification Framework. India is a country today with 65% of its youth in the working-age group. If ever there is a way to reap this demographic advantage, it has to be through skill development of the youth so that they add not only to their personal growth but to the country’s economic growth as well.

Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Sjt Pramod Boro, the Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), the Bodoland Skill Employment and Entrepreneurship Development Mission, or Bodoland SEED Mission, was launched on 14th December 2021. Speaking during the Bodoland Mahotsav held in the month of November 2024 at New Delhi, the prime minister of India mentioned the SEED Mission in his lecture.

There is no doubt that the success of a nation always depends on the success of its youth, and Skill India is certain to bring a lot of advantages and opportunities for these young Indians. On World Youth Skills Day, let us come together to recognise the power of young people as drivers of change—and commit to equipping them with AI and digital skills to tackle today’s challenges and shape a more peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable future.

(With direct inputs from UN publication)