World Youth Skills Day | Illustrating Disability

Written By Amanda Hendrie

On a white background, the blog title “Illustrating Youth Skills Day” is in the center. On the bottom left corner, inside a navy blue blob says “disability experience.” To view the visual Instagram post based on this blog post, click the image or here.

World Youth Skills Day started in 2024 to annually celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship on July 15th. The theme for 2024 is Youth Skills for Peace and Development to highlight the role of youth in peace building and conflict resolution (United Nations, World Youth Skills Day). As the saying “Youth are the future,” there is still a need to teach and provide the space to develop the skills needed for decent employment. However, do not forget that youth also have ideas and learnings that can expand and evolve the status quo of what has always been done.

World Youth Skills Day is an opportunity for dialogue between young people and different partners within employment, education, government, and businesses to create a more just and sustainable environment for everyone, including youth. While it allows for collaboration, it is critical to be clear on the expectations of youth in the workforce and not overburden them with high expectations of education and skills without opportunities to have the experience. More young people are moving further into education which is great to witness but, it does extend the time that young people are not fully participating in the workforce to gain the experience that is expected. 

There are key skills that every job needs in the 21st century. Some of the skills include

  • problem-solving,

  • social skills,

  • communication skills,

  • information literacy skills,

  • media literacy skills,

  • and critical thinking 

(National Today, World Youth Skills Day)

Some jobs require specific education and technical requirements. However, having the soft skills that can be learned in education, community/family, and recreational activities is transferable between jobs. It is also the skills that feel like they are missing as technology and educational achievements become the focus to stand out in a competitive environment. 

So, what is the connection of World Youth Skills Day and disability?

Having a disability can happen at any age and at any stage of life. There are disabled youth that exist who will benefit from obtaining those skills for their employment endeavours and aspirations. The main conversation when it comes to disabled youth and skills is that education and training needs to be accessible and inclusive to them to fit their access needs and lifestyle to set them up for success. This is not always the case.

If a disabled youth has an official diagnosis and was in an education system, transition planning is one of the tools used to assist youth to obtain the skills needed for their next step, post-secondary, employment, or programs to help them further into their aspirations. It is not always consistent or inclusive to the individual’s goals. Transition planning can be useful if the information and approach is inclusive and accessible to the youth if available to them (AODA, School Transition Programs for Students with Disabilities). 

Noticed that in transition planning, it is specifically a youth with an official diagnosis? These services are typically reserved to people who were able to receive the medical confirmation that they have a disability. It creates gaps and barriers for youth who may be overlooked in the education and medical system due to factors such as income, identity, and availability of services in the community. Since it is usually specific to age, youth can age out of potential benefits of the services and tools that would allow them to learn the skills and grow to meet the demands of the workforce.

Providing the space for disabled youth to develop the skills is important but it will not have a positive impact if the negative attitudes towards persons with disabilities in employment continues. With the myths of accommodations and accessibility for disabled employees still present in societies of being too expensive or inconvenient to the business, organizations are missing potential skilled youth who can contribute to the economy (ODEN, Here’s How We Can All Make a Difference for Youth Who Have a Disability and Want to Work). The discrimination of persons with disabilities in the workforce and the attitudes that are still present within workforces, it is leaving persons with disabilities to create their own work experiences with businesses and/or limiting them to gig work to meet their needs both accessibility and to live in the system. 

So, what can you do to help disabled youth gain and utilize the skills they need to succeed in the workforce? 

Well first, attitudes do need to change so that we can see the potential that already exists within persons with disabilities to participate in the workforce and community. While it was discussed in relation to employment, it also needs to include education and the community to be accessible and inclusive to persons with disabilities as well. There are youth with disabilities that can and should be active members of the community. Create an environment both physical and attitudinal to allow persons with disabilities to feel like they can participate. 

Education and the workforce needs to adapt and change to fit the needs of everyone, including persons with disabilities. Creating an experience with universal design in mind is ideal but it does not mean to forget about individual needs and experiences that provide the needs for accommodations. Being perfect in universal design does not exist for every disability but being flexible and adaptable in your approach can be helpful to allow an inclusive and accessible experience for everyone. 

Persons with disabilities should have choices. Promoting self-employment and small businesses as a choice that they can pursue instead of ultimately being a need due to the limitations of the workforce. Entrepreneurial spirit is great to have if that is the path someone chooses, to not make it someone’s only choice in surviving in the community. 

Lastly, skills can be gained and maintained in many avenues including volunteer work. Do not dismiss someone’s experience in skills if obtained in the “non-traditional” approach when it is just as valuable and rewarding as “traditional” work. Perception can be too narrow to see the potential and opportunities that could be in front of you.

Amanda

Resources

Amanda Hendrie
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