Joining forces to upskill the world's youth

The jobs of the future are likely to require new skills that are harder to come by in communities where opportunities are lacking. To help bridge this gap, we are collaborating with UNICEF in support of Generation Unlimited to support their mission to help skill and connect 1.8 billion young people to opportunities.

As a founding partner of Generation Unlimited, we are collaborating to address skilling challenges facing young people globally as well as locally through on-the-ground programmes.

"By focusing on skills and potential rather than solely on formal education and previous job titles, we can unlock a much larger, more diverse pool of talent. This approach better equips us for digital and green transitions, while significantly broadening access to opportunities and driving innovation."

Peter Brown, PwC Global Workforce Leader

The collaboration addresses global and local needs

Global needs: We encourage a global movement by engaging leaders from government, industry and the international community and urging them to rally behind young people and invest in the development of 21st century skills for the next generation of talent. We do this by:

  • Co-creating thought leadership that addresses upskilling challenges from different perspectives and offers potential solutions for creating better conditions for young people.
    • Stepping forward examines the youth digital divide and how stakeholders from across sectors can work together to help address four core elements that will enable young people to cross the digital divide.
    • Reaching YES identifies three global youth skilling gaps which impede youth from gaining the skills they need and actionable steps for business, government and corporate leaders to address the skilling gaps.
    • The Net Zero Generation makes the case for why governments and businesses must work in partnership to prioritise and invest in green skills for youth, as the net zero transition continues to transform our economies and societies.
  • Facilitating commitment to action across the public and private sectors at a global scale by convening relevant stakeholders to engage in dialogue and debate about the topic of upskilling.

Local needs: We develop and expand country programmes that meet local needs. For example:

  • In South Africa, PwC South Africa and UNICEF South Africa collaborated with the University of Pretoria to launch the Mamelodi Business Hub which helps  school leavers and job seekers develop entrepreneurial skills of the future.1

  • In India, PwC India collaborated with UNICEF in support of Generation Unlimited to develop the Youth Hub and Meri LiFE platforms which connect young people to jobs and volunteering opportunities, as well as involve them in initiatives focused on addressing climate change and enhancing environmental sustainability.


1 UNICEF South Africa, Mamelodi Business Hub, May 2022

Contact us

Colm Kelly

Colm Kelly

Global Corporate Sustainability Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited

Bethan Grillo

Bethan Grillo

Managing Director, Global Corporate Sustainability, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited

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