Skill development begins at a young age.

Research suggests that early-childhood schooling and primary education have a large positive effect on critical cognitive development, building skills which are then multiplied through learning later in life. For example, recent research by the World Economic Forum shows that investing in just one important skill area – collaborative problem-solving – could add as much as $2.54 trillion to global GDP.1 Yet, according to UNICEF, less than half of young people around the world are currently on track to acquire the full range of skills needed to thrive at work and in life.

One key challenge preventing the broad development of future-ready skills through childhood education is the lack of a common foundation, definition and understanding of the skills needed for the future and how these can be developed from an early age.