Digital solutions create job opportunities for younger generation

Digital solutions have played an important role in national strategies to overcome youth unemployment, according to a new report released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on Monday. The report, entitled Digital Opportunities: Innovative ICT Solutions for Youth Employment, said youth around the world should obtain digital literacy skills to qualify for the growing number of jobs that demand information and communications technology (ICT) skills One of the causes of youth unemployment is a skills mismatch between what the market is demanding and what institutions of learning is providing, the report noted. "The demand for both basic and more advanced ICT skills cuts across all sectors, from agriculture and construction to education and service industries to ICT jobs themselves, in both developing and developed countries," Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of ITU said in a statement. He highlighted that "equipping with young people with digital skills opens doors to a range of jobs and business opportunities". In addition, the report said ICTs are transforming entrepreneurial opportunities, which provided young people with business and "soft" skills they needed to launch enterprises. According to the statistics from the International Labor Organization, as many as 73 million young people are currently unemployed worldwide.