YoungWarriorNXT is platform to aid youth with skilling, employment opportunities: UNICEF India

The UNICEF-collaborated programme, '#YoungWarriorNXT, aimed at skilling the youth between 14 and 24 years, will help young persons with essential life and employability opportunities, said UNICEF Representative to India Yasmin Ali Haque.

The programme, which aims to engage 100 lakh young people by August 2022, was introduced by YuWaah (Generation Unlimited India) and UNICEF in associations with the youth affairs ministry and other UN offices.

''#YoungWarriorNXT provides a platform to young people to learn essential life and employability skills that supplement their academic knowledge,'' UNICEF Representative to India Yasmin Ali Haque told PTI.

She added that it will be accessible to all across the country irrespective of language, state, ethnicity and gender. ''It is a platform that helps you understand your own possible pathway better and helps you and guides you along the way.'' The objective of the overall programme is to influence and shape the life skills ecosystem and delivery of life skills in India, she noted.

Launched in August, #YoungWarriorNXT aims to engage with 100 lakh young people in the first year by making them aware of foundational 21st Century skills through various channels, she said.

''Our focus is on the three categories of essential life skills, the first one includes decision making, problem solving, communication and collaboration. The second category is employability skills, which include job readiness skills and some technical and vocational training skills,'' she said.

Recognising the psycho-social impact of COVID-19 on the community, the programme will also include initiatives that address mental health and emotional well-being as the third category, she said.

''It's going to be so exciting to see how young people, who are exposed to these essential life skills and the mental awareness, lead successful lives and careers when equipped with this,'' she observed.

Further, she stated that in the first year, the '#YoungWarriorNXT' aims 20 lakh youth to complete at least 10-hours of 21st Century skills modules and to assess and formally recognise 10 lakh young people on the skills they have gained, she added.

Haque said '#YoungWarriorNXT' has been introduced as a pilot in a couple of states, and YuWaah and UNICEF are in talks with 2-3 state governments to roll out the same.

Young people can learn these skills through the YWNXT chatbot model available in 11 languages, Haque added.

Those young people engaged through the YWNXT to learn these critical life and employability skills will receive certificates of participation and completion by UNICEF, CBSE and YuWaah.

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