World Youth Skill Day 2022: 44% employees eager to learn new skills, finds survey

World Youth Skill Day 2022: India is home to fifth of the world’s youth population and has the largest young workforce globally. They are considered as the most important and dynamic segment of the population.

To focus and celebrate the strategic importance of equipping youth with skills for employment, decent job and entrepreneurship, the United Nations had in 2014 declared to observe July 15 as World Youth Skills Day.

Covid-19 impact on youth

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have affected all aspects of our social and economic lives. No doubt, the effects of the pandemic were taking a devastating toll on millions of people and impacted businesses as well. However, it was the youth which were vulnerable to the greater societal shifts being witnessed as a result of the virus.

Young professionals started finding it difficult to enter the workforce due to lack of appropriate skills and experience in the job market. Skill gap is the major reason for increasing number of unemployed professionals among youth. Skilling, Upskilling and training of youth for the 21st century employability skills and capabilities will help create a skilled workforce that can contribute towards socio-economic growth. They should be trained in real-time market oriented skills such as soft skills, communication skills, technical skills rather than specific skills taught in isolation.

Importance of skills

With rapid technological advancements and introduction of new technologies in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, job roles are changing at a rapid pace. Therefore, it is important to skill, upskill and reskill the current set of young professionals to let them co-operate with the changing dynamics of the working culture and industry.

“The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the livelihood of millions across the globe, causing a huge setback to training, skill development, and education opportunities for the youth, who have been hit the hardest, economically. However, technology proved to be a great enabler in such times as digital platforms enabled students to pursue online learning, entrepreneurs to engage in their businesses and professionals to work online. The animation, visual effects, comics and gaming (AVCG) sector has received a major boost as youngsters take up new skills on a click," Harshada Sarode, Human Resource Manager at PlayerzPot, said.

Going forward, the post-pandemic era will require immense creativity and resilience. It is important for the graduate students, working youth to hone their skills across a plethora of technologies. It is great to see how the government and businesses are now increasingly investing in digital skills development to help the youth stay ahead of the curve for a better future.

Employees open to acquiring new skills

According to a survey by Hirect India, a chat-based direct hiring platform for startups and SMEs, the business landscape in the current scenario is transforming due to the digitization process and technology skills perpetually changing. The survey revealed that around 44 per cent of employees are open to acquiring new skills and adapting to new situations. Additionally, the poll revealed that the younger generation is more receptive to acquiring new skills online. This implies that the new workforce, which is entering the corporate world, wants to learn and grow with new skills.

Raj Das, global co-founder and CEO, Hirect India, said that employees are receptive to change and want professional advancement. For this, companies should strategize and devise their learning and development programmes which will help the employees and ultimately contribute to the firm's growth.

Abhishek Sharma, CBO, Vidyamandir Classes (VMC), said that digitally savy population will soon make up the new digital workforce. "To help young people integrate to the workforce smoothly, skills development is a key strategy."