In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July World Youth Skills Day – a day to celebrate and emphasise the importance of equipping young people with the skills to flourish in both their personal life and their career journeys.

At its essence, World Youth Skills Day highlights the importance of social investment and broadening our skills as the world heads towards a more sustainable model of development. As a university, LSE is already focused on developing students’ academic skills, but what other skills can you develop while you’re here?

This blog outlines information and resources within LSE that can help you gain new skills as well as hone the ones you already have.

Skills in the context of COVID-19

When much of the world entered lockdown in April 2020, research by the Open University found that 24% of adults in the U.K. had taken on additional learning in order to “boost their employability and protect the value of their skills”, and so protecting their earning potential. Google searches for online courses reached a historic high, while LinkedIn reported that their users watched 1.7 million hours of video content on LinkedIn Learning – that’s triple the amount of hours recorded in January 2020.

But why the sudden increased demand for online learning? Put simply, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the labour market volatile, with more competition for jobs and so a perceived need to upskill. But even before the pandemic, labour markets had begun huge transformations as the world continues to technologically advance and go digital.

Ways to develop your skills at LSE

For students, recent graduates and alumni, these findings are a sign to learn new skills and elevate our current ones. LSE is a leading research and academic institution that boasts 71% full-time employment after graduation, and there are many reasons for that. One reason is the plethora of resources we offer our students to help you gain the skills to hit the ground running when you graduate:

LSE Language Centre

The LSE Language Centre offers programmes and courses relating to language study and services supporting social science students and alumni.

Read more about the LSE Language Centre online

Digital Skills Lab

Develop key skills you need to support your personal and professional development. Digital Skills Lab offers access to collaboration and specialist research tools, Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification, as well as classes related to Web Design and Data Science, and other workshops.

Visit the Digital Skills Lab webpages for more information

LSE LIFE

LSE LIFE is an academic, personal and professional development hub for undergraduate and taught master’s students, offering hundreds of events, workshops and one to one sessions each term.

Discover more about LSE LIFE online

LSE Careers

We have many skill-based offerings and programmes at LSE Careers. Make sure to head over to the LSE Careers website to find out more about our services and events.

Professional development skills: We offer sessions that will support your job search and prepare you for the world of work, including networking, using LinkedIn, and presentation skills. Tune in to more professional development skills events here.

Industry-led Skills Seminar Programme: Our programme offers organisations the opportunity to support LSE students to develop their understanding of different sectors and roles through interactive case studies and group activities.

Skills at home: A series of videos designed to explore skills that you can build at any point of the day, covering entrepreneurial skills, volunteering, digital skills, part-time work and learning a language.

Find out more about LSE Career events, workshops, and sessions on CareerHub.

You can also book a confidential one-to-one careers appointment to discuss any of the above topics or other career-related questions you may have.