In 2020, the global workforce lost an equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs, an estimated $3.7 trillion in wages and 4.4% of global GDP, a staggering toll on lives and livelihoods. While vaccine rollout has begun and the growth outlook is predicted to improve, an even socio-economic recovery is far from certain.
The choices made by policymakers, business leaders, workers and learners today will shape societies for years to come. At this critical crossroads, leaders must consciously, proactively and urgently lay the foundations of a new social contract, rebuilding our economies so they provide opportunity for all.
In this context, the Forum remains committed to working with the public- and private sectors to provide better skills, jobs and education to 1 billion people by 2030 through initiatives to close the skills gap and prepare for the ongoing technological transformation of the future of work.
Education and Skills
This e-learning platform in Bangladesh is training students and teachers
Education and Skills
Teenagers' maths and reading skills are dropping sharply
Education and Skills
Why we must plan lifelong learning for a generation that will live past 100
Find out why we need a new lifelong learning model better suited to centenary life spans where people might be in the workplace for another 20 to 40 years.
Education and Skills
Using smartphones to boost digital literacy among India's rural communities
Teaching daycare workers basic digital literacy skills can kickstart a continuous cycle of education and pass tech skills along to children in their care.
Education and Skills
OECD PISA results: Maths and reading skills in 'unprecedented drop'. Here's why that matters
The first OECD PISA study since the pandemic shows an "unprecedented drop" in maths and reading performance.
Education and Skills
An extra $437 spent on every child boosts high school graduation rates, finds a new study. Here’s how
More public spending on education and support for vulnerable households boosts graduation rates, a study by Michigan State University has found.
Education and Skills
Want to boost school graduation rates? Public spending is key
Nature and Biodiversity
Air pollution affects how children score on exams
Education and Skills
The Booker Prize 2023 has a winner. Here's a summary of the novel and a round-up of the runners-up
The Booker Prize 2023 has a winner - Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, set in a version of Ireland descending into totalitarianism.
Cybersecurity
The G20 Digital Agenda: Cross-Presidency Priorities
The G20 Digital Agenda: Cross-Presidency Priorities white paper, co-authored by the World Economic Forum and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), underscores the importance of a cohesi...
Education and Skills
Interdisciplinary research is key to scientific discovery. So why are universities reluctant to cross disciplines?
Scientific research that crosses traditional academic disciplines is essential for the next big science breakthroughs. How can we embrace its potential?
Emerging Technologies
Can AI transform learning for the world's most marginalized children?
See why UNICEF feels AI holds huge potential for education through collaboration with governments, civil society, the private sector and other partners