Globally, half of all young people, more than 800 million in total, will by 2030 not have the basic skills necessary for the workforce. In the United States, one in 10 young people – approximately four million youth – are not currently enrolled in school or engaged in work. This is a challenge for both youth entering the workforce and for businesses seeking the new generation of employees equipped with the skills needed to lead the new frontiers of the economy, technology, and society. This skills gap will also negatively impact the productivity, economic capacity, social health, and sustainability of communities worldwide.
The Global Business Coalition for Education is now creating the largest network of youth-serving organizations in the U.S. working together to tackle the youth skills and employment crisis.
GBC-Education tackles these challenges head-on by harnessing the innovation and creativity of youth and industry leaders. Our Youth Skills and Employment initiative brings together all of our efforts to address the skills crisis with the urgency it deserves. We convened a Youth Skills and Innovation Commission to identify new models to rapidly enhance the skills of young people and inspire attributes and abilities that support success on the job. This work was supported by a Youth Council that provided direct feedback to the Commission, applauded the recommendations, and encouraged business, governments, and fellow youth to take action.
Our global research on youth skills development has been documented in landmark reports including, Resilience: A New Youth Skill for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and our flagship Youth Skills and Innovation Report. These reports have acted as the foundation for pledges, commitments, and action worldwide. In addition, GBC-Education has developed targeted programs and reports in key world regions and countries, providing actionable analysis for policymakers, educators, and the business community. For instance, GBC-Education produced a regional skills scorecard that describes the skill crises in various regions across the globe.
With support from Dell Technologies and Deloitte, we published the U.S. Skills Friendly Cities report which identifies how key U.S. cities are performing in youth skill development. GBC-Education also partnered with UNICEF Regional Office of South Asia and Generation Unlimited to host the South Asia Youth Skills and Solutions Forum in Mumbai, India as part of our work to understand the regionally specific challenges of developing skills for youth.
The Youth Skills and Employment Accelerator, launched in 2022, helps nonprofits working with young people from underserved communities to connect with other organizations, businesses and funders to improve young people’s skills and employment prospects.
Participants:
Following participation in the accelerator program, organizations and their leaders remain part of the network. Alumnus participants have access to ongoing networking and peer-to-peer support opportunities.
We invite you to support our 2025 cohort as they undergo a year of intensive training to increase their collective impact. Additionally, we are exploring the possibility of launching similar accelerators in Europe and Africa. If you are interested in supporting this model in other regions, please get in touch with us to discuss the opportunities.
We’re thrilled to have earned this amazing recognition. This is about helping under represented college students and supporting business growth, especially women- and minority-owned businesses.Bramley Crisco, Director of Talent Development at Action Greensboro (2022/23 Cohort)
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The Youth Skills and Employment Accelerator, supported by Dell Technologies and Deloitte, is working to ensure that by 2030, all young Americans will have the skills they need to get a job. To date, this program has invested in 28 nonprofits in 22 U.S. states to positively impact more than 200,000 young people.
Reports and Research
Reports and Research
