On AI and TVET

Two years ago, I opened a panel discussion on AI in education with the question: "Every person has natural intelligence, but who has artificial intelligence?" That event brought together over 1,000 practitioners, confirming the rising interest in this subject... The focus is understandable, especially with the increasing interest in the future of work and how young people should be prepared. Most of the conversation, however, is focused on those who are already in structured educational systems. What about the others? 

I meet young people every day who did not have the opportunity to complete school. They are a visible part of the workforce, doing their best in unstable, short-term jobs that offer little predictability and no longterm growth. Their work is often manual, with limited protection.

Last week, I met a 25 year-old woman who works in cleaning. She finished tenth grade before she got married, then divorced soon after. She is raising a 7 year-old boy on her own, with no other source of support. She cannot afford to leave her job, and she does not know where or how to access vocational training, or what kind of training could help her find a more stable and better paying job. She has already started to suffer from health issues linked to the physical strain of her daily cleaning work. AI is not something she sees as connected to her reality, let alone as something that could open possibilities for her or her child.

I keep asking myself, what does AI mean to someone in her position, who lacks access to technology and digital skills? What would a realistic training path look like for her and for the many others who left school early and are trying to make ends meet in informal or low paid jobs?

These questions matter for fairness and for planning an economy for everyone.

#FutureOfWork #TVET #OutOfSchoolYouth #YouthWorkforce #YouthEmpowerment #SocialPolicy #Inclusion #PovertyReduction #DigitalInclusion #SkillsDevelopment #ImpactThatMatters