As AI reshapes our world, young people must be seen not just as learners – but as co-creators of a fairer digital future.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
2025 Theme: Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills
In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.
15 July 2025 marks the 10th anniversary since World Youth Skills Day (WYSD). This year’s theme focuses on Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills.
As the Fourth Industrial Revolution reshapes economies through Artificial Intelligence (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.
On World Youth Skills Day, let us come together to recognize 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.
Empowering Youth to be Agents of Change through Digital and AI Skills
Date: 15 July 2025, 8:30–10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time)
Location: ILO UN Office, One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, 30th Fl, 885 2nd Ave, New York, NY
Co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka to the UN, UNESCO, ILO, and the UN Youth Office, the World Youth Skills Day 2025 event will spotlight the role of digital and AI skills in shaping inclusive, sustainable societies—empowering youth, advancing education, and promoting ethical tech use.
WYSD 2025 celebration
Date: Jul 15, 2025 - 3:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time, EDT)
Location: Online
High-level panel discussions with UN officials, policymakers, educators and youth leaders at the Learning Planet Institute in Paris and UN Headquarters in New York.
Rewiring the future: How AI can empower girls and youth for the green transition in Asia-Pacific?
Date and Time: 15 July 2025 - 11:00 a.m. (Asia/Bangkok (UTC+07:00)
Virtual
Why is World Youth Skills Day important?
In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. Since then, World Youth Skills Day events have provided a unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, firms, employers’ and workers’ organizations, policy makers and development partners. Participants have highlighted the ever-increasing significance of skills as the world is embarking on a transition towards a sustainable model of development.
What role do technical and vocational education and training play?
Education and training are central to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The vision of the Incheon Declaration: Education 2030 is fully captured by Sustainable Development Goal 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. Education 2030 devotes considerable attention to technical and vocational skills development, specifically regarding access to affordable quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); the acquisition of technical and vocational skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship; the elimination of gender disparity and ensuring access for the vulnerable. In this context, TVET is expected to address the multiple demands of an economic, social and environmental nature by helping youth and adults develop the skills they need for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship, promoting equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and supporting transitions to green economies and environmental sustainability.
TVET can equip youth with the skills required to access the world of work, including skills for self-employment. TVET can also improve responsiveness to changing skill-demands by companies and communities, increase productivity and increase wage levels. TVET can reduce access barriers to the world of work, for example through work-based learning, and ensuring that skills gained are recognised and certified. TVET can also offer skills development opportunities for low-skilled people who are under- or unemployed, out of school youth and individuals not in education, employment and training (NEETs).
Strawberries for Change: Young Farmer’s Challenge in Rural Gambia
In Gambia, strawberry production is rare. 24-year-old Alhadgie Faal received three months of training in vegetable production. He and his brother now run a successful business growing high-value vegetables and fruits, including strawberries.
Did you know?
- About 450 million youth (7 out of 10) are economically disengaged, due to lack of adequate skills to succeed in the labour market .
- 86% of students do not feel adequately prepared for an AI-enabled workplace .
- 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.
- 90% of adolescent girls and young women in low-income countries are offline .
- 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.
Digital Campaign
UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and the UN Youth Office are leading this year’s World Youth Skills Day 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 lead change.
We invite you to start posting on 15 July using #WorkLifeReady and #YouthLead, and to share ready-to-use materials from the WYSD Trello board (the assets are under embargo and will be released on July 15, 2025) with youth groups and networks to boost participation.
