All countries stand to benefit from having
a healthy and well educated workforce
with the knowledge and skills needed
for productive and fulfilling work and
full participation in society.
and ever-increasing technological
sophistication, the knowledge and
skills gained in schools and colleges
are often insufficient.
Training must be linked to the current
needs of the labour market, as well as
anticipating and building competencies
for the jobs of the future. A key to
success will also be in public-private
partnerships, to leverage the resources
and structure of the existing education
system and scale up business solutions
to meet the skills gaps.
Governments must work with the
private sector, to mobilise corporate
citizenship arms of businesses to help
ensure that the skills gap does not
become debilitating to progress.
Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-
General, Executive Director UNITAR
Effective partnerships between
governments, employers’ and workers’
organizations, training institutions and
providers will also be critical to anchoring
the world of learning in the world of
work, ensuring that the “right” skills
are taught and learned by workers.
These partnerships will be pivotal to
building quality apprenticeship systems
and incorporating core employability
skills into training for young people,
including basic and portable high-level
skills, such as teamwork, problem
solving, ICT, communication and
language skills.
It will also be vital to reach out to the
furthest and leave no one behind, by
expanding access to employment-related
training in rural communities in order to
improve livelihoods, reduce poverty,
and equip women and men to work
in the formal economy.
Finally, given that the challenge
of upgrading education and skills-
training systems is shared across the
developing world, national governments
should develop knowledge-sharing
and South-South partnerships,
to develop curriculums, train teachers
and educators, and share best practices.
With the right investment, partnerships
and planning, this challenge will be
an opportunity to build a resilient and
resourceful talent pool for the future.
Closing the skills gap will provide good
and decent jobs relevant to the growth
of economies, thus promoting social
cohesion, prosperity and expansion
of opportunities for business and
development.
The 2030 Agenda highlighted that
“all countries stand to benefit from
having a healthy and well educated
workforce with the knowledge and
skills needed for productive and
fulfilling work and full participation
in society”. The opportunity that
closing the skills gap represents,
will contribute to many of the SDGs.
In fact, I would argue, that given the
deep interrelationship of all the goals,
matching training and education to skills
needed will be pivotal to achieving the
transformative agenda. Since skills are a
foundation of decent work, and decent
work is at the heart of sustainable
human development, equipping the
workforce with the skills required for
the jobs of today and those of tomorrow
is a strategic concern in the national
growth and development outlooks
of all G20 countries.
As the training arm of the United
Nations, the United Nations Institute for
Training and Research (UNITAR) is firmly
committed to ensuring that business
and governmental sectors collaborate
to deliver capacity building and training
to ensure that the skills demand is met
in all countries.
UNITAR is working closely with
Governments, non-governmental
organisations, academia and private
sector partners, to facilitate sustainable
and transformational growth that benefits
all. Investment in inclusive, gender
sensitive, youth entrepreneurship,
environmental management and
green jobs programmes, as well as
engineering, science and technology
training opportunities, are just some of
the ways in which UNITAR is working to
strengthen human capital for sustainable
development in developing countries.
To find out more go to www.unitar.org or
contact us directly at [email protected]. ■
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