No one feels more strongly than young people themselves the mismatch between the jobs that are available and the skills that they acquire in education systems. Or, for many, the skills they don’t get a chance to acquire: 74 million adolescents aren’t even enrolled at school.

That’s why we are currently listening to the voices of the young to prepare for the 2012 Education for All Global Monitoring Report on skills development and the world of work.

Our Youth, Skills & Work blog has been online for several months now. This is a space where any young person from anywhere in the world can submit stories and opinions about the need for skills to get decent work. You can read their stories on the blog or watch our YouTube animation to learn more.

We recently launched an art contest, which invites young artists to express themselves creatively about these issues. The first prize is a trip to Paris, and the winner’s artwork will be featured in the report. We have produced flyers in English, Spanish and French that can be found in digital versions on our website. Please feel free to use them to spread the word through your networks!