Zunara Nauman
Education Specialist
On 15 July, the world observes International Youth Skills Day, a global reminder of the critical importance of equipping young people with the right skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. But at Aflatoun International, it’s more than just a day on the calendar—it’s a call to action.
As AI, climate change, digital transformation, and demographic and behavioural shifts reshape how we live, learn, and work, the question is no longer whether young people need skills; but how rightly skilled, up-skilled, and fully equipped with a complete set of future-ready competencies they must be.
Youth is preferring tools over titles
Across the globe, Generation Z—those born between 1997 and 2012—are making bold moves. Rather than chasing traditional degrees alone, they embrace skills-first career paths that offer relevance, flexibility, and resilience. Why?
Because they’re facing:
- rising education costs
- unpredictable job markets
- outdated curricula that don’t reflect real-world needs
And they’re right to pivot.
Today’s youth understand that skills aren’t just pathways to jobs—they are the building blocks of innovation, self-reliance, and sustainable social progress. But too often, their journey is blocked by:
- a mismatch between education and labour market needs
- limited access to accredited, flexible learning pathways
- lack of foundational, future-ready soft skills integrated into training
Skillset of capability, community, and character
What sets skill approach apart? It’s not just about teaching a skill—it’s about developing a mindset.
Take, for example, a young chef trained through one of our programmes. They don’t just learn to cook. They are also:
- manage a budget and set fair prices (financial literacy)
- market their services online and use AI tools (digital and fintech skills)
- lead a team and respond to feedback (social and emotional skills)
- think creatively under pressure (problem-solving)
- act with integrity and responsibility (ethics and values)
Each profession requires a different mix of skills—and an effective curriculum is designed to custom-fit those blends based on real-world needs and youth aspirations.
Relevant, Future-ready, and Empowering
At Aflatoun, we work with both Generation Z and Generation Alpha (even preparing for beta)—diverse learners navigating complex realities across the globe. Particularly, when it comes to youth, our AflaYouth curriculum, updated for young people aged 16 to 24, equips them with the skills to navigate a fast-changing world and respond to shifting demographic, psychographic, economic, and behavioral realities of youth.
It is structured into four interconnected books, plus a coaching and resource guide, and covers the following key skill areas:
- Social skills – addressing identity, relationships, communication, and belonging. It recognizes today’s youth as digital nomads navigating digital and social neighborhoods, and includes ethics, emotional awareness, and active citizenship.
- Financial skills – from budgeting and planning to digital finance, fintech, and youth-centered financial behaviors
- Employability – focusing on workplace readiness, global collaboration, resourcefulness, and critical thinking
- Entrepreneurship – fostering a solution-oriented approach, grounded in real community needs and innovation
Each strand is built around a Genz learner-centered design thinking and learning approach. It applies active, project-based, and real-world learning that encourages exploration, reflection, collaboration, and co-creation across both formal and informal learning settings.
As a cross-cutting principle, the curriculum also integrates digital and green competencies throughout all skill
areas—ensuring youth are ready for a tech-driven, sustainability-focused future.
Why this day matters—now more than ever
International Youth Skills Day isn’t just a celebration—it’s a space for shared responsibility and global dialogue. We believe that transformation only happens when youth, institutions, policymakers, employers, and training implementers come together.
At Aflatoun, our commitment is clear: to prepare youth not just to survive change—but to lead it.
When skills meet purpose, transformation begins
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here. The climate crisis is here. And a generation is rising—ready to act, create, and lead.
That’s why we keep evolving our tools, our pedagogy, and our content. Because when skills meet relevance and pedagogy meets purpose, we don’t just prepare youth for jobs—we prepare them with skills for life.