The initiative to equip young people with the essential skills and relevant opportunities for financial independence

Passport to Earning Initiative uses technology to build 21st century skills – Shri Sanjay Kumar

Shri Sanjay Kumar IAS, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, attended an online programme organised by UNICEF on 11 October 2023, the UN International Day of the Girl Child, to commemorate the milestone of one million certifications of its Passport to Earning (P2E) programme. The event was also attended by Dr. Krishna Kumar Dwivedi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Shri Nitesh Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS); and Ms Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF Representative to India.

UNICEF’s global learning-to-earning solution, Passport to Earning (P2E), has skilled and certified more than one million young people in India in areas of financial literacy and digital productivity. This milestone marks a major step towards helping them gain skills relevant to the future of work and life. Notably, 62 per cent of all young learners who benefitted from P2E courses in India are adolescent girls and young women.

In India, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, P2E provides free access to certificate courses in digital productivity, financial literacy, employability skills, and other in-demand, job-ready skills. The P2E solution also offers provisions for online, hybrid, and offline learning models.

The digital learning platform aims to deliver long-term sustainable skilling to 5 million youth  in the age group of 14-29 in India by 2024 and then connect them to opportunities in job, self-employment and entrepreneurship to be financially independent.

Speaking at the occasion, Shri Sanjay Kumar said, “I am happy to note that UNICEF’s Passport to Earning (P2E) initiative uses technology to build 21st century skills for the holistic development of young people. The results speak for themselves: P2E has achieved 1 million+ course completions by 1 million unique young people in just 11 months since its launch. A big congratulations to all stakeholders who are a part of this journey.”

While speaking at the event, Cynthia McCaffrey said, “At UNICEF, we believe when girls and young women are equipped with tools, skills, and economic opportunities, they become an unstoppable force for a more inclusive and prosperous world. We are delighted that the Passport to Earning (P2E) program has reached the milestone of training a million young people in its first year, with 62% of the learners being young women. Aligned with the Government of India’s vision to drive progress through ‘Nari Shakti’ (woman power), the P2E program is dedicated to creating pathways for young women to enable their transition from learning to earning by connecting them with the right skills and opportunities to succeed and to lead the world to Agenda 2030.”

Dr. K.K. Dwivedi said, “Hon’ble Prime Minister often remarked that skill development of youth is a national need and is the foundation of Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Bharat. I commend the efforts made by UNICEF India, YuWaah and partners in building the Passport to Earning (P2E) program. It is an important initiative to encourage collaboration between the Government, private sector, and civil society in nurturing a future-ready young workforce.”