World Youth Skills Day Comments
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Skilling of the youth is an important talent management task for the industry. This is because the industry is continuously evolving ad the youth has to keep on updating its skills accordingly. Several leaders from the industry have commented on the occasion of the World Youth Skills Day.
Following are their comments -
“Skills for a shared future is exactly the right lens for where L&D needs to go. We've moved past the idea that learning happens once, early in a career, and then you're set for the next twenty years - that model is already broken. What works now is pairing the digital fluency young talent brings in with the judgment and context that experienced mentors bring, and building real structures around that exchange, not just onboarding decks. At Fulcrum Digital, our upskilling programs are built around this: hands-on exposure to AI and automation tools alongside active mentorship, so people learn by doing, not just by sitting through modules. If businesses want a genuinely shared future, they have to treat youth skilling as core infrastructure, not a CSR line item.”
--Anjali Sharma, VP- HR and Director – Global Head of L&D, Fulcrum Digital
"India's renewable energy ambitions are ultimately translated into reality on project sites, where engineering expertise, technical precision and execution capabilities determine the pace of progress. As the sector scales, the demand for skilled professionals is expanding beyond conventional engineering to areas such as project management, digital construction, quality assurance, and advanced renewable technologies. At AB Energia, technical roles already make up 55% of our workforce, and that share will only grow as our projects become more complex. Bridging this skills gap is essential to delivering renewable projects efficiently, safely and at scale. This year's World Youth Skills Day theme, 'Skills for a Shared Future,' is a reminder that investing in technical talent is not just about creating employment - it is about strengthening India's capacity to build the clean energy infrastructure of the future."
--Sandesh Naik, Chief Financial Officer, AB Energia Solutions
"India's ambitions in AI and digital infrastructure are only as strong as the talent pipeline that supports them. As data centres become more complex and power-intensive, the demand for engineers who understand AI workloads, critical power and cooling systems is only going to accelerate.We see this as a shared responsibility, which is why we strive to work closely with institutions like the IITs to curate programmes that help close the gap between what industry needs and what academia teaches. Building this talent base across India even including Tier2 and Tier3 cities is how we support future-ready critical digital infrastructure in India."
--Santosh Kulkarni, Senior Director, Learning and Development, Vertiv
"India's cybersecurity talent gap is real, and it's widening faster than most training pipelines can keep pace with and that gap is exactly what 'Skills for a shared future' should be pushing us to close. Certifications and classroom theory only get someone so far, but what actually prepares young talent is time spent on real tools, real attack scenarios, real incident response, before they're thrown into a live SOC. That's the thinking behind our Authorized Training Centre in India - giving students and early-career professionals hands-on exposure rather than just credentials on paper. At the end of the day, cybersecurity is a people problem before it's a technology one, and the industry doesn't get to complain about a talent shortage if it isn't willing to invest in building that talent itself."
--Sunil Sharma, Managing Director & VP – Sales (India & SAARC), Sophos
“The AI era is fundamentally redefining the relationship between infrastructure, energy, and talent. While investment in digital infrastructure will continue to accelerate, the true differentiator will be the availability of highly skilled professionals who can build, manage, and evolve increasingly complex digital ecosystems.From engineering and critical operations to energy optimisation and sustainability, the capabilities required to power the future of AI infrastructure are becoming increasingly specialised and strategically important. India's demographic advantage presents a unique opportunity to develop a globally competitive talent base that can support the country's digital ambitions and contribute to the global digital infrastructure ecosystem.Realising this opportunity will require collaboration between industry, academia, and policymakers to ensure skills development evolves alongside technological progress. On World Youth Skills Day, the conversation should move beyond preparing talent for the jobs of today and focus on building the capabilities that will define the industries of tomorrow. Investing in future-ready talent is ultimately an investment in India's long-term digital resilience, innovation, and global competitiveness.”
--Pratap Mane, President & India Head, Colt Data Centre Services
These comments show that skilling of youth is of particular interest to the industry leaders. organisations should take particular steps to train their young employees and work with the academic institutions for this purpose.
