World Youth Skills Day 2020 took place in a challenging context. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures led to the worldwide closure of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, threatening the continuity of skills development. Respondents to a survey of TVET institutions, jointly collected by UNESCO, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank, reported that distance training became the most common way of imparting skills, with considerable difficulties regarding, among others, curricula adaptation, trainee and trainer preparedness, connectivity, or assessment and certification processes.
More than 1 in 6 young people are out of work due to COVID-19. As young people are called upon to contribute to the recovery effort, they will need to be equipped with the skills to successfully manage evolving challenges and the resilience to adapt to future disruptions.
Virtual Conference
A Virtual Conference on Skills for a Resilient Youth was held from 6-14 July on the TVeT Forum. It was organized as part of the celebrations to mark World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) 2020, and was coordinated by UNESCO-UNEVOC in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning. The virtual conference report is available here.
A selection of WYSD activities from the UNEVOC Network:
CIVTE hosted a virtual conference on the theme of “Fighting against COVID-19 and promoting the development of TVET students — China’s TVET in action”. More than 100 leaders and teachers from over 30 vocational colleges attended the meeting.
NSU held a virtual national seminar which aimed to raise awareness of skills education, promote various indigenous skills, identify upcoming skills requirements and identify challenges to skilled workers during the pandemic.
NBTVE hosted a high-level meeting in Tripoli supported by partners and sponsors from the Ministry of Labour, the Authority of Scientific Research, and the Arab Federation for Technical Education, among others.
YabaTech encouraged students to send in videos as part of a youth stories campaign and raised awareness about the importance of skills training for young people through a social media campaign.
Through the efforts of TVEC, the ILO and the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, the Skills Passport System was launched on WYSD by H.E. President Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa. TVEC also organized an international webinar series on 15 July.
Due to the global crisis following Covid-19 and the related confinement, on World Youth Skills Day the students of ISAM KIN supported the government in its fight against the pandemic by volunteering their time to produce medical masks.
MoHE collaborated with TEVETA and WorldSkills International Zambia to organize a series of activities, including a speech by the Minister of Higher Education and video documentaries of skilled youth.
ITC organized a festival for young people to submit short videos and animated graphics on their skills training. Selected videos were broadcast on the National Iranian Network.
FTE, represented by The Middle Technical University (MTU), organized a virtual event in celebration of WYSD. The President and Vice-President of MTU hosted the event, where TVET students shared insights, followed by a lecture and panel discussion.
NTA hosted a TVET E-convention entitled ‘Unleashing the potential: Transforming technical and vocational education and training’. The E-convention ran from 14-16 July and consisted of a three-part series of live discussions featuring industry experts.
UoEld jointly organized a virtual WYSD activities with four other UNEVOC Centres in Kenya. These activities included the production of videos of young people engaged in skills training and the participation of staff in a virtual conference.
CONIF raised awareness through a communications campaign along with mobilizing all the institutions in its federal network to highlight the importance of youth skills development on 15 July.
SZPT hosted a series of activities under the theme of "Fighting Covid-19 with Youth’s Love" to celebrate WYSD. Over 700 works of students' calligraphy, painting, videos, music, posters, and essays were displayed.
iHub marked WYSD with a series of videos which were dedicated to parents' and children's concerns during the lockdown period.
Tknika hosted a virtual event with representatives from the BILT Project and regional TVET institutions.
Am I eligible to participate?
You are eligible to participate as long as:
Photos should highlight the innovative aspects of technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
We want you to capture interesting moments showcasing how TVET is equipping young people with skills for the future. The focus should be on one or all of the following:
* TVET for a sustainable future – photos highlighting how skilled young people are applying their knowledge and training to contribute to a greener and more sustainable future.
* Preparing for a digitalized world – photos highlighting how the digitalization of TVET is helping to build skills and competencies for the changing future of work.
* Skills for inclusive growth – photos highlighting the importance of ensuring equal access to innovative, future-oriented TVET, regardless of gender, ethnicity, nationality or disability.
View the gallery of SkillsinAction photos
La galerie Flickr de l'UNESCO-UNEVOC présente des albums des photos des précédents concours photo SkillsinAction ainsi que des albums d'autres événements.
Album SkillsinAction 2020 - https://unevoc.unesco.org/i/759
Album SkillsinAction 201 ...
View the gallery of SkillsinAction photos
UNESCO-UNEVOC's Flickr gallery features albums of the photo entries from the previous SkillsinAction Photo Competitions along with albums of other events.
2020 SkillsinAction Album - https://unevoc.unesco.org/i/759
2019 SkillsinAction Album - ...
United Nations resolution on WYSD
UN Website: UN World Youth Skills Day
UNESCO-UNEVOC Youth and Skills
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