We need to change how people can obtain relevant skills

universityworldnews.com · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

Full Article

GLOBAL Higher education and skills are a pathway for success. Unfortunately, gaps in learning and workforce-readiness are limiting young people from thriving and economies from growing. This needs to change. At the same time, profound shifts in technology are reshaping how people learn and the skills that industries need. Over the next decade, about 1.2 billion young people in emerging economies will reach working age, with barely 420 million jobs expected to be generated. While 480 million more will either be in schooling or receiving training during this period, that still leaves about 300 million young people with no chance of a decent livelihood. How can we ensure young people can access quality higher education, workforce training programmes and other skills-focused learning that allow them to be ready for the needs and opportunities of the new economy? Success will hinge on three innovations. 1. Learning must be connected to jobs and livelihoods Technology has altered the job landscape, redefining competency as we knew it. By 2030, new technologies like automation and artificial intelligence could displace as many as 92 million job roles. Already, developing markets are vulnerable to these shocks, as they account for the world’s top 10 countries with the largest share of skills mismatch. Artificial intelligence is also creating entirely new categories of work and raising the need for new and relevant skills. Young people entering the workforce must know how to engage with AI systems, interpret data-driven insights and apply judgments in complex environments. Learning programmes must integrate AI literacy to truly prepare students for the modern workplace. Industries are paying attention because the cost of these structural gaps is steep for them. Skill gaps pose the biggest obstacle to business growth over the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum. Without the right talent, organisational growth stalls and economies struggle to realise their development ambitions and create jobs. The World Bank Group’s new education strategy includes a focus on higher education and these skills gaps. We want to improve linkages between education and the workplace to help young people gain relevant skills and thrive. One route is supporting private sector education and training providers, whether through financing, helping them improve their operations and programmes for greater student employability or innovating with technology so that students are workplace ready. An ongoing example is International Finance Corporation’s Vitae programme, which helps higher education institutions build innovative pathways for graduate success. Over 200 institutions have adopted Vitae in their programme design, reaching nearly three million students worldwide. 2. We need to reimagine digitalisation as a dynamic engine of opportunity Simply put, digital programmes must reach everyone, not just the connected few. Without a focus on scaling access, adoption may continue to see an unsteady burst of progress punctuated by unintended inequities. Nearly 2.5 billion people around the world still don’t have access to the internet, leaving them increasingly disadvantaged. Women bear a disproportionate burden of this disparity. In 2024 alone, there were 189 million more men using the internet compared to women. We don’t want that. While it is essential to get many more universities and skills providers aboard the digital transformation train, these efforts must be matched with clear investment and partnerships to drive inclusion in a more strategic way. 3. We need to break new ground in global education cooperation We need collaborations that are fit for purpose, bold and yet adaptive. This entails transitioning from siloed, short-term approaches to working as one system united by a common goal. Too often, we have seen what happens when education institutions, be it public or private providers, work at cross purposes – resources are wasted, inequities widen and learning is rarely relevant, resulting in poor learning outcomes and skills mismatch. To avoid this, private higher education providers can help expand access to quality and market-relevant training, especially in AI-enabled fields, supplementing what is provided by the public sector. Stronger industry partnerships could enable education providers to quickly adapt curriculum to market needs, reduce talent misalignment and ensure graduating students are workforce ready. Governments also have a critical role to play through policy reforms that aid rapid workforce development, leading to shared progress. This includes regulations that promote pedagogical innovation, drive technology adoption and embed work-based learning in programme design. As we watch the global population expand and skills evolve, many more young people could be excluded from meaningful employment unless we change how people can obtain relevant skills. Without investment in human capital, economies cannot unlock their highest potential. We must galvanise every resource it takes to shape a prosperous future for young people – from innovative financing to policy reforms, programme re-engineering and long-term partnerships. How we respond today matters for our shared tomorrow. Chris McCahan is an International Finance Corporation (IFC) sector lead for health and education services, managing a US$1.4 billion portfolio of investments. The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group, focusing exclusively on private-sector development in developing countries through investment, advisory and asset-management services. This article is a commentary. Commentary articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of University World News.