As compared to a time where all you need was to go through school and a job awaits you, the ball game is entirely different. Statistics released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2020 show that the global youth unemployment rate is at 18%. With that of Nigeria currently sitting pretty at 23% with about 275 million youths unemployed worldwide. These numbers only mean one thing, you’re as valuable as the skill set you possess. July 15 is recognized globally by the U.N as World Youth Skills Day. This is a day used to re-emphasize the place and importance of skills in changing the socio-economic fortune of the youth.
The U.N’s initiative designed to tackle this challenge is the Technical and Vocation and Education Training (TVET). This scheme is targeted at ensuring that all youths find the most suitable place for them to thrive, irrespective of their financial capabilities. Seeing that artisans, the informal sector, and the formal sector work together for a vibrant economy.
SSDO’s Role
South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) is at the forefront of implementing the TVET initiative. SSDO organized a TVET conference sponsored by Development Research and Projects Center and Ford foundation aimed at bridging the skills gap in the Formal and Informal TVET sector with a keen focus on artisans, technicians, and students. Find more on the TVET mini-conference.
Importantly, before youths can effectively put their knowledge to good use and in fact create employment, there are marquee skills that are crucial and important for youths to be successful in the sector they choose to operate in. Here is a rundown of the most important soft and foundational skills needed for life’s mastery.
Time Management
This is one of the most important skills needed in the world today, but painfully only a few youths have been able to master it. Youths are adventurous, fun, strong, hardworking, diligent but a lot of them have no grip of the concept of time. And you see so many people ask themself at the end of a long day. “What did I do with my time?”.
Time management is fundamental to personal development and a key ingredient in goal setting. For your planning to be effective you need to work with a time ban. Come to think of it, why do CEOs and successful people have a personal assistant? Oh yes! Scheduling is the crux of productivity and that’s why even people who have life all figured out, don’t joke with this. Time is our most valuable asset and often can’t be recouped once lost.
“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” – Theophrastus.
Communication
This is another skill that so many people have yet to come to grasp with and rightfully so, it is psychological. There is a science to communication. Interestingly, when people communicate, it is less about the words spoken and more about the things left unsaid. Research has shown that about 70% of communication is deduced from nonverbal cues. So how much attention do you pay to body gestures, sighs, facial expressions, eye contact, and more? Someone is saying, ” Well, I am going into business, this doesn’t concern me.” Sorry to break the bad news to you, it does!
The better you can communicate your business’s essence and the brand story, the more loyal your customers are. And for those in the formal sector, the importance of communication cannot be overemphasized. Both written and oral forms. As an effective team lead or member, how well do you communicate with your team? Are you someone who speaks and others are struggling to decipher the theme behind your message? Or you in fact leave them more confused than how you started? Communication is indeed one of the most important skills youth should seek and learn.
Networking
There are four types of quotients, intelligence quotient(IQ), emotional quotient(EQ), social quotient(SQ), and adversity quotient(AQ). Of all these, you’d expect that IQ would be the most significant to be successful in career and business right? Well, it’s not. Studies have shown that the most successful individuals in the world are those who have combined well their EQ and SQ. How well do you know people?
How willing are you to leave your space and meet others? Your ability to build a relationship and relate with people is often time the most crucial factor for success. The most important resource to build a career isn’t money, but social capital. This is the network of relationships among people that live and work in a society, hence propelling it to function. Relationship is the new oil, and those who know how to network are the owners of the oil well.
Critical Thinking
This is the ability to task the mind and brain systematically to get solutions to everyday problems. It is the ability to think independently, rationally, and connect ideas to achieve results. This isn’t something that comes after 5 minutes of thinking. And you realize that based on some socio-cultural norms, most youths in this age haven’t harnessed this skill. How many people can patiently think up a solution for one to two hours straight?
This skill is requisite in today’s fast-paced world. To stand out, come up with innovative ideas, brand strategy, policies, and innovations that would set you apart from the crowd, you need to be a critical thinker. You must be able to manage your mind in the midst of the pressures of the world, trends, and happenings jostling for your attention. In this 21st century, a vibrant mind is essential to not just keeping your sanity but also to make good judgments at the point of decision making.
If you can effectively harness these skills, you are well on your way to freedom in every sense of the word.