Words by Mohammad Saleh, Regional Manager at Autodesk
On July 15th, UN World Youth Skills Day is celebrated to further the strategic importance of equipping our young people with the skills and confidence to succeed in the workforce, whether it be looking for employment, working in an industry or an entrepreneurial path. The theme of 2022 being “Learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development” could not be more relevant with sustainability at the forefront and a focus on UN SDGs across industries.
Today’s youth are key players in building a sustainable world tomorrow. It is, therefore, necessary that we ensure the youth of today have access to all the necessary tools to become experts in their fields of choice so they can make a positive impact.
This UN World Youth Skills Day is a chance to propel meaningful debate and actionable decisions on best practices to deliver on promises to the youth. With the UAE’s educational infrastructure along with newly announced initiatives that promise rewards to students performing exceptionally well in school, we are set to attract the best and brightest minds to the region.
We can start by focusing on the educational development and vocational training of young people through increasing access to digital training platforms and upskilling courses integral to learning and career growth.
The UAE can be seen as leading the charge in the region through the visionary government focused on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 – Quality education, showing commitment to upskilling youth of all ages through grants and educational schemes which empowers them to grow up and excel in various fields. The UAE Government has been working on various inclusivity and equality programs such as the Future Partnerships initiative which aim to increase participation opportunities in STEM industries. With only 19 percent of educated women working in STEM field jobs, promoting technological and vocational skills among women is integral to drive further participation to develop a further represented workforce.
At Autodesk, we strive to align with the vision of the UAE government and are dedicated to preparing the next generation of makers, designers and engineers. Towards that end, we continue to provide free access to Autodesk software to students and educators around the world, including in our region. This helps in “future skilling” students as advanced technologies and workflows accelerate change in industries and careers.
To further strengthen our impact towards the UN SDGs, we work with our clients who treat this impactful work as a top priority – with 70 percent committing to prioritizing and anchoring development of the SDG 8: working towards providing employment, decent work for all and social protection to the beneficiaries.
The Autodesk Certification Program was also launched at Autodesk University 2021, a program to help today’s and the future talents of an ambitious workforce prepare for the age of automation, a commonplace across the industries we work with and quickly expanding to others.
We have also collaborated with regional education authorities as well as private institutions, such as Kitspire, that use Autodesk technologies to introduce young children to STEM education and build their interest in the latest scientific trends and developments. The future of all industries lies in the digital transformation and automation of tasks. To deliver on smooth transitions for organizations moving towards including digitized and automated practices in their day-to-day operations, there holds an innate need to train the future workforce (future skilling) for these new challenges. It is our promise to further develop partnerships that provide these fundamental skills for the betterment of our future and continued investment in our youth.
ENDS
About Autodesk
Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Our technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to smarter products to more mesmerizing blockbusters, Autodesk software helps our customers to design and make a better world for all. For more information visit autodesk.com or follow @autodesk.
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