Developing specific skills for work or entrepreneurship
UNICEF’s commitment to facilitate the transition from education to work life
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What are job-specific skills or entrepreneurship?
Job-specific skills, also known as technical and vocational skills, are associated with one or more occupations, such as carpentry, accounting or engineering.
They are important because they support adolescents and ensure their smooth transition from education to the world of work.
School-to-work transition is a process that allows young people to move from education to productive and decent work. This transition is not linear, as we can continue studying while working or return to education after holding a job, or we can start by engaging in informal employment or entrepreneurship and then transition to formal employment or entrepreneurship.
This process can be split into two categories:
- The transition preparation process, which allows young people to develop the skills (knowledge, competencies, attitudes and qualifications) required by the labor market to secure, maintain and thrive in decent employment/entrepreneurship, and adapt to a constantly changing economy.
- The transition process, during which young people access decent work/ entrepreneurship opportunities by relying on their skills.
School-to-work transition and employability are interrelated concepts.
Employability is defined as a person's ability to secure and retain employment, progress within the enterprise and between jobs, and cope with changing technology and labor market conditions.1 It includes two dimensions:
- The capability dimension refers to whether individuals have the skills required by the labor market.
- The opportunity dimension refers to whether individuals can access employment opportunities that optimize their skills.
What do we do?
We help ensure that adolescents and young people in Latin America and the Caribbean access formal education opportunities. Our work is aimed at:
- Supporting adolescents’ and young people’s access to formal, non-formal or informal education opportunities that teach them specific job skills they need to insert themselves in the world of productive and decent work.
- Facilitating spaces where adolescents and young people can meet and participate in creating innovative solutions to address the problems in their communities.
- Influencing a wide range of stakeholders to listen and consider adolescents’ and young people’s proposals, bringing the world of work closer to them as they get ready to complete secondary education.