Every year on July 15th, World Youth Skills Day serves as a global reminder of the critical role of skill development in empowering young people for employment, entrepreneurship, and sustainable livelihoods. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, this day highlights the importance of equipping youth with the necessary tools to navigate an increasingly complex world. In 2024, the theme resonates deeply with principles of cooperation, emphasising collective action and mutual support in skill development. Let’s explore how we are celebrating the World Youth Skills Day from a cooperative perspective, highlighting the transformative role of cooperatives in empowering youth and creating an ecosystem for sustainable development.
Need for Skill Development
Knowledge and skills are the driving forces for social development and economic growth for any country. Moreover, skill development is a tool to enhance both productivity and employability. It promotes adaptability, paving the way for lifelong learning and continuous improvement. At the individual level, developing skills can lead to career advancement and job security. On a macro level, it contributes to the economic development of a nation by improving the quality of its workforce.
Currently, India is blessed with a sizable young population having an average median age of less than 28 years. The young population makes India the Skill Capital of the World. Skilling this population is poised to be the key driver of a new India with inclusive welfare, technology-enabled development, climate action through energy transitions, galloping towards a multi-trillion dollars’ economy.
Role of Young generation in the Cooperative set up
Youth and cooperatives are driven by five key indicators i.e. employment, education, inequalities, engagement, and entrepreneurship, essential for sustainable development. Young people bring a much-needed boost of energy and dynamism into cooperative enterprises and conventional businesses. These include new-age skills, enhanced creativity, innovation & problem-solving, a rise in entrepreneurial thinking, new working patterns, and a different attitude to risk.
According to one of the publications by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), some of the most innovative work at present is in emerging platform cooperatives, a technologically advanced field of cooperative entrepreneurship which is often developed by young entrepreneurs.
Youth and Peace – Gandhian philosophy in the land of Gandhi
One of the themes of the World Youth Skill Day celebration is peace and development which aligns with Gandhian philosophy of ‘Nai Talim’. It was deeply intertwined with the idea of self-reliance and the dignity of all forms of labour. He believed that true education encompassed the holistic development of an individual, nurturing not only intellectual growth but also practical skills that could sustain livelihoods and foster community well-being.
Our founder, Shree Elaben Bhatt, in her writings “Anubandh: Building Hundred Miles Communities,” emphasised the recognition of the skills a self-employed woman possesses and the acknowledgement that recognizing these skills is the first step towards skill development.
The SEWA Experience
In response to the needs of existing women cooperatives, the SEWA Cooperative Federation began mobilising young women in 2022 to form a cooperative. To understand the ground situation, SEWA community leaders known as “Aagewaan” adopted a method of mobilising and organising young women through area meetings under the programme called ‘Srujan’. During these meetings, young women expressed their ambitions to explore new work areas and showed interest in developing their career with digital technology.
“… My thoughts are my assets…”
A participant of the ‘Srujan’ Collective
Instead of looking for traditional forms of livelihood opportunities taken up by the cooperatives, the youth banks upon their creative and intellectual skills to create career opportunities for themselves.
The Srujan Program incubates young women from the grassroots, training them with sector-specific skills with digital tools and techniques that offer sustained livelihood opportunities and tell their own stories and those of their communities and women informal workers.
Mariyamben Ajmerwala, one of the master craftsmen and trainer of hand block print of Abodana Mandali; a handicraft cooperative, emphasises on the need of mastering (a)/few skills which helps the artist in the longer run. Sharing her experience, she put forth that the skills have helped her in ensuring livelihood and recognition. She appeals to the younger generation to take interest in learning a skill, to be passionate about the same and ‘craft a career’ path using these skills. In her words;
“The block printing art and techniques require ‘a pair of young and skillful hands’ to keep this tradition alive. This skill has provided me recognition and livelihood. I am happy to be part of this SEWA family and the shared love and interest for art and crafts.”
Cultivating Democracy and Growth: The Cooperative Advantage for Youth
Cooperatives can serve as ‘schools for democracy’ by offering real-world examples of democratic and participatory collaboration. This aligns with behavioural economics and helps young people develop social skills and confidence through teamwork in an entrepreneurial setting. Cooperatives originated from the idea of self-help during economic hardship, and today, they can still support young people facing economic and social challenges. By embracing cooperative values of self-help and self-responsibility, young people can find additional support and opportunities for growth.
Written by Aparimita Pramanik
We recently hosted a webinar on how Bridge Institutions are a need of the hour for Women Collective Enterprises to access working capital and growth skills. Watch our film on the same, here.
