World Youth Skills Day 2026
15 July 2026
It’s WORLD YOUTH SKILLS DAY on the 15th July! Young people are facing high levels of unemployment, fewer entry level jobs and little recognition of the value they can bring to the workforce. Around one million young people are classed as NEET (not in education 🎓, employment 🧑💼 or training 🛠️), yet 84% of those reported wanting to be in a job or training for one.
The Youth Justice project provides young adults opportunities to contribute and work to demand better prospects, and the Vocational Support service works alongside SWers from all backgrounds to help them recognise their skills and amplify their achievements. Today, and every day, NUM recognises the skills, strengths and perspectives that young adults bring to the table.
Get in touch with youthjustice@nationaluglymugs.org if you’re a young adult, aged 18 – 25 years old, wanting to get involved, or reach out to vocationalsupport@nationaluglymugs.org if you’re keen to showcase your skills and build on your knowledge of all things vocational!
Escorting
Nearly 40% of all respondents in the Youth Justice research are escorts (independent and agency).
Your skills as an escort include:
- Time management
- Effective and attentive listening
- Verbal communication skills
- Research and planning
Content Creation / Webcamming
Just after escorting, content creation and webcamming were both highly reported as types of sex work engaged with by Youth Justice research participants.
Skills include:
- Marketing
- Forecasting and predicting trends
- Initiating new ideas
- Digital skills
BDSM and Festish
Just under half of all respondents reported engaging in BDSM, kink and fetish work.
Skills include:
- Perceiving non-verbal queues
- Initiating new ideas
- Identifying appropriate resources
- Responding to client requests
Erotic Dancing
Around 40% of respondents engage in erotic dancing.
Skills include:
- Identifying consumer trends
- Relationship and rapport building
- Creativity and cognitive flexibility
- Providing support for others
Transferable Skills from Experience
Don’t forget that you have transferable skills from other experience too! In addition to skills from sx work and mainstream work, you may have acquired skills through having caring responsibilities, education, and throughout life! All of these are experiences that contribute to your skillset and your skills are always growing with you.
Recognise Your Value
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that young people are facing higher levels of unemployment, with fewer opportunities for entry-level jobs, despite a high desire to work (source: BBC, 2026).
The wealth of experience, skills, knowledge and fresh perspectives that young people have can act as a real asset to a team. But the barriers that young people face when looking for employment can prevent recognition of their value, and cause young people themselves to doubt their abilities.
NUM acknowledges and appreciates the skills that young people can bring to a team, evidenced in its Youth Justice Project, and supports the removal of barriers to employment and celebrates the successes of all young adults.