Today, 5 April 2013 the UN and development partners worldwide observe the 1,000-day mark to the 2015 target date to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

1,000 Days to finish the work of the MDGs, which will lay the foundation for a new development agenda.

Unemployment and lack of necessary skills is a burden affecting heavily people around the world. While global population is growing and number of youth is increasing, opportunities for young generations are not necessarily following the same pattern. One out of eight young people around the globe is currently unemployed. Although there has been a large progress in the area of Education for All (EFA) 200 million young people never completed primary school and haven’t developed necessary skills to obtain work.

To mark the rising importance of young generations and challenges they are facing in the areas of education and employment, the UNESCO 2012 Education for All Global Monitoring Report focuses on Youth and Skills: Putting education to work. It examines how skills development programmes can be improved to boost young people’s opportunities for decent jobs and better lives.