With appropriate skill training, we can equip youth with the required competencies and outlook to participate in society as a productive and positive member. Since 2014, World Youth Skill Day (WYSD) is celebrated on July 15 every year. This day symbolizes the importance of skill training and its role in entrepreneurship and employment. United Nations considers skill training an effective strategy for sustainable development.
WYSD theme for 2024 was “Youth Skills for Peace and Development.” There is no doubt that well-aware and confident young people can surely contribute positively towards the stability of a community. Considering the prevailing situation in different parts of the world, it seems so relevant that the role of youth in peace-making and peacekeeping is highlighted through this day.
UNICEF sources share that despite all efforts towards economic sustainability, millions of people live under deplorable conditions. Out of the extremely poor population, almost half is comprised of children. According to estimates, almost three hundred and thirty-three million children are living in extreme poverty. At the same time, almost one billion children worldwide are classified as multi-dimensionally poor, which means they lack the necessities of life, including food, clean water, and shelter.
“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”
Benoît de Courson and his colleagues argued in a recent research article that individual-level processes can generate population-level patterns. It implies that if individuals are not satisfied or they feel deprived and repressed, it can create aggression. Such aggression can gradually take the shape of a collective or population-level response. According to research conducted by Dr Tansifur Rehman in the Department of Criminology, at Karachi University, there has been a 42 per cent increase in violent incidents by youth. This research also sheds light on the causal factors: alarming poverty and unemployment are among the top reasons behind these violent crimes by young people.
As an educationist and psychologist, I look at skill training as a holistic process of personality development. A skill development process or program encompasses the domains of abilities, competencies, techniques and coping strategies required for effective performance in a certain occupation. Along with specific technical skills for a specific area, it also includes soft skills such as time management, communication, problem-solving, stress management, innovation. I believe that with appropriate skill training, we can equip youth with the required competencies and outlook to participate in society as a productive and positive member. The same is true for youth with disabilities.
I have had the privilege of working with youth having special needs. I have witnessed that young boys and girls with neurodiversity including intellectual disability, autism and cerebral palsy, show marvellous results in skill training. No doubt it requires a longer period and lots of patience and they might not succeed in becoming fully skilled. Yet with all these impediments this effort is worth it because it changes their entire outlook towards life. Creates a positive self-image and transforms them from a dependent person with challenges to a contributing and valuable individual.
I want to shed light on challenges associated with vocational skill training of youth with special needs. Since they represent 15 per cent of the population, it is impossible to move towards sustainable development without addressing their needs. A major challenge faced by persons with special needs is that the mainstream vocational training institutes are neither accessible nor equipped to train them. They lack accessible infrastructure, modified equipment and trained teachers. For example, a wheelchair user requires a ramp, wide doors, accessible washrooms and modified machines where all operations have been transferred to hands rather than feet. In the absence of such modifications, he does not get an equal chance to learn skills. Serious efforts are required to bridge this gap.
The availability of trained and patient trainers is yet another challenge. There might be trained teachers in vocational training institutes in terms of specific skills, but they are not trained to manage diverse trainees in their classrooms. This challenge can be resolved by designing a post-induction training where they are trained in managing different types of learners including those with special needs in their classes.
The instructional methods and training materials might also require to be changed for trainees with disabilities. Persons with visual impairment or blindness can very successfully learn to use computers but they need screen-reading software that reads the screen for them. Similarly, if there is a trainee with low vision, a large font on screen and documents is required to facilitate their learning. Young people with hearing impairment on the other hand need support of sign language and written instructions to master their skill training.
The most difficult yet most fulfilling area of special needs in terms of skill training is neurodiversity. Children with intellectual disability, autism or cerebral palsy have difficulty in learning, retaining or accessing learning material.
It is a research-backed fact that motor learning is different from memorizing facts or learning academic concepts. When a motor skill is practiced to a certain level it becomes somewhat automatized which requires less attention and effort. This is why children with intellectual impairment, despite having difficulty in learning academic concepts, can flourish in skill training.
They require support in directing themselves, staying focused, managing time and regulating their behaviour. Such goals can be achieved through the supervision of trained and motivated trainers. This is why, when it comes to skill training for persons with intellectual disability, specially designed vocational training workshops are required.
Once the skill training is completed, the next step is securing and sustaining gainful employment. Youth with disabilities usually face problems in commuting, working for longer hours and communicating with others. They are more vulnerable to bullying, isolation and exploitation in the workplace. A job coach can make this transition easier and smoother. A job coach is a professionally trained individual who helps the employee and employer to make the workplace inclusive.
In case of severe or multiple disabilities, sheltered workshops can play an important role in getting youth with special needs ready for jobs. They work, learn and gain experience in a secure environment where order-taking, marketing and procurement are done by supervisory staff. Rising Sun Education & Welfare Society is working on this model. The persons with disabilities get to learn skills and while doing so they get a stipend for what they produce. When any opportunity for a job comes up, the job coach helps them get settled in the mainstream workplace. One recent example is Faraz bin Zafar who is a boy with Downs’ Syndrome and despite his physical features, communication barriers and intellectual challenges, he has been able to secure a job in ECS.
I want to emphasize the need for skill training for all youth irrespective of their religion, geographic location or ability level because in the words of Robert Greene “The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”
The writer is a freelance columnist