Muscat, August 19 (WAM) - Data from the Statistical Centre for Gulf Cooperation Council States showed that young people in the GCC countries have achieved advanced levels in a number of technical and communication skills, surpassing their global counterparts, which reflects the impact of investments directed towards education and human capacity building.

This is due to the increased attention given by the cooperation countries to investing in education and developing the skills of young people, which enhances their readiness for technological transformations and future labor market requirements. Government spending on education in some GCC countries reached around 17 percent in 2024, exceeding the global average of 12.6 percent.

Technical and communication skills are gaining increasing importance among young people due to the accelerating shift towards a digital economy, as they provide opportunities for empowerment in the labor market, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, support continuous learning, and play a role in protecting privacy and promoting responsible digital citizenship.

Data from the weekly bulletin issued on the occasion of World Youth Day indicated that Gulf youth recorded high performance in file copying skills with 100 percent compared to 54 percent globally. The percentage of those possessing social media skills reached 95.2 percent, compared to 68 percent worldwide. The percentage of young people who possess privacy settings skills reached 75.9 percent, compared to 34 percent globally.

In the field of information verification, the percentage among young people in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is 61.6 percent compared to 24 percent globally, while programming skills reached 31.8 percent compared to 6 percent at the global level, highlighting the difference in the level of ownership of digital skills by young people in the Gulf.

The interest in investing in education and human skill development comes within the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries' direction towards preparing a generation capable of keeping pace with technical transformations and labor market needs, and enhancing the capabilities of youth with knowledge and skills that enable them to participate effectively in the economic and social development process.

These indicators are linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 1 related to eradicating poverty, through the target associated with the percentage of total government spending on basic services, including education, alongside Goal 4 concerning quality education, which aims to achieve a significant increase in the number of young people and adults who have the necessary skills, including technical and vocational skills, to work, hold decent jobs, and engage in entrepreneurship by 2030.

These indicators emphasize that investment in education is no longer limited to increasing access to knowledge but has become a cornerstone for building human capital and enhancing competitiveness and readiness for the requirements of the digital economy.

The levels of technical skills among young people in the Gulf also reflect a trend towards building more innovative, entrepreneurial, and adaptable human capabilities in response to rapid changes in the labor market.

This is in line with the 2026 Human Development Report, which emphasizes the importance of taking into account different contexts and promoting global solidarity. It also stresses the need to invest in young people in various regions and support those who face the greatest obstacles, so as to ensure that no young person is left behind in the development process.

The data on technical and communication skills among young people in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries thus emerges as one of the important indicators of growing investment in human capital. This is especially true given the increase in government spending on education in some member states to levels that exceed the global average, along with the accompanying clear progress in digital skills, including programming, privacy, information verification and social communication. These are now essential skills for enabling young people to compete in the job market and create their own future opportunities.