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World Youth Skills Day: Experts agree with this year’s theme of Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills
Started in 2014, this year’s World Youth Skills Day emphasises the theme ‘Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills’.
India and the world are celebrating Youth Skills Day today, July 15, in recognition of the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment and entrepreneurship, among others.
Started in 2014, this year’s World Youth Skills Day emphasises the theme ‘Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills’.
The United Nations, in an official statement, said that the fourth industrial revolution reshapes economies through Artificial Intelligence (AI), and therefore, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) must evolve to equip youth with future-ready skills.
However, it added, while AI is transforming lives, it also poses serious risks if not implemented equitably.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) also stated that while AI is rapidly changing technical and vocational training, with reforms, the digital divide will grow, especially for marginalised youth.
Nikhil Barshikar, Founder and CEO, Imarticus Learning, highlighted how AI and automation are causing disruptions across industries and emphasised that the youth must be ready for this transformation.
“The responsibility of upskilling the youth lies not just with the government but also with education companies like ours, who serve as catalysts in equipping the next generation with industry-relevant skills,” he said.
“With AI projected to contribute $13 trillion to global GDP by 2030, we are responding by preparing individuals who are not only skilled but also innovation-ready and responsible contributors to the digital economy. At Imarticus Learning, we’ve seen a 118% surge in demand for AI-related courses, a macro trend driven by companies prioritizing productivity and professionals seeking to future-proof their careers,” Barshikar added.
Sandip Weling, Chief Business Officer – Global Retail and Whole-time Director at Aptech Limited, highlighted the role of future-ready training in animation, VFX, gaming, and emerging tech in building a skilled, job-ready workforce.
“Today’s youth don’t just need skills, they need relevant, real, and future-focused ones. On this World Youth Skills Day, we at Aptech are proud to stand at the intersection of creativity, technology, and employability.”
“As AI reshapes the world of work, it also unlocks new opportunities for youth empowerment, innovation, and expression. The world is changing fast, and our youth will need the right tools, technology, and opportunities to lead this change.”
World Youth Skill Day: Yogi to inaugurate 2-day skill fair, expo today
Kartik Shahani,Vice President of India and SAARC, for CrowdStrike says cybersecurity is a national priority for India, for which developing the skills of the next generation of cyber professionals by building their AI literacy and digital skills is important.
CrowdStrike is a AI Cybersecurity platform that stops breaches, as per the official website.
“...adversaries are faster, stealthier, and more sophisticated than ever. They no longer break in, they log in by exploiting stolen credentials. Cloud environments are under siege, generative AI is turbocharging social engineering attacks and insider threats are a rising challenge. The average eCrime breakout time has fallen to 48 minutes, with the fastest attacks observed at just 51 seconds. This evolving threat landscape demands a unified security approach - one that is AI-native, delivers comprehensive visibility and is powered by real-time intelligence, to detect and respond to threats at machine speed.”
World Youth Skills Day: History, significance and this year's theme
Noopur Julka, Senior Director at UST, compared AI and automation as an evolution similar to when the world adapted to the internet.
There are some shifts that happen once in a century, and now the frequency is shortening fast. Be it the steam engine, aerospace technology, and a fast track to the millennium, it was the internet. The Internet was not a technical skill but a baseline of what one should know to survive rather than thrive. AI and automation will be the same baseline to survive, not just succeed.”
“We are seeing a complete mindset shift of how we should think of consumption models for our customer. The trend was offshoring to automation to process optimization, but it always led to people efficiency but not it is changing. We will advance to a world where there will be agents offered on a subscription basis - scalable and on demand.”
