Accenture, Dubai Cares, Microsoft and UNICEF have collaborated to launch the Passport to Earning platform – a global, digital learning platform for young people
Operating under the Generation Unlimited partnership, the platform aims to address the global education crisis – currently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – and prepare the next generation for decent work.
According to a recent World Bank-UNESCO-UNICEF report, the current generation of students risks losing US$17 trillion in lifetime earnings – around 14% of today’s global GDP – as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures. However, even before the pandemic, young people were not learning the skills necessary for future work. Pre-pandemic data showed that without immediate action, by 2030 an estimated 825 million children will not acquire the basic secondary-level skills – such as transferable, digital and job-specific skills – needed to support lifelong learning and employment.
The platform will provide young people aged 15-24 across the world with free, certified education and skills training – with content spanning across digital, foundational, role-based and technical skills.
The Passport to Earning platform was unveiled at the RewirEd Summit, the largest global education summit of its kind, led by Dubai Cares, in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai and in close coordination with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), and delivered in partnership with global stakeholders.
“Passport to Earning will provide young individuals with an effective tool to strengthen and upscale their skillsets and empower their professional journeys towards greater goals. In addition, the RewirEd Summit proved to be a fitting gathering to launch this platform in line with the conversations we hosted around the summit’s first day theme: Youth, Skills and the Future of Work,” said HE Dr Tariq Al Gurg, CEO and vice-chairman of Dubai Cares.
Operational in 20 countries, the Learning Passport was recently identified by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best inventions of 2021.
The platform will offer online and offline digitalised curricula with supplemental content curated at the national level. It will keep young people learning –both inside and outside of classrooms – with content that is not dependent on a consistent web connection.
“The Passport to Earning, which builds upon proven solutions in delivering education in the most challenging of environments, will provide young people with the skills and certification they need to create a better, more sustainable world,” said Omar Abdi, UNICEF deputy executive director.
