Her Excellency, Princess Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises that we must make quality education available to all, to achieve a prosperous and peaceful world. These targets specifically include the elimination of gender disparities, ensuring equal access and affordability, and are inclusive of youth, adults, persons living with disabilities, men and women, across developing and developed countries.

Across the world today, substantial barriers are limiting both the youth and adults from gaining new skills which will enable them to compete in a rapidly evolving world. Through the development of an open and flexible learning environment we may be able to help vulnerable people circumvent issues such as proximity to learning resources, poverty, the effects of conflict, poor infrastructure and more, which hinder them from learning. The future of education will no doubt rely largely on the use of digital tools and technology to provide relevant knowledge and skills for all.

Due to the disruption of education by Covid-19, especially as it affected students in OECD countries, I am aware that ABE took defining steps, by adapting to open book exams and switching to remote learning – the first UK awarding body to do so. This helped to provide thousands of young people with the opportunity to continue with their education unabated.

In developing countries, we witnessed the unprecedented effects of interrupted education due to school closures amid mandatory lockdowns. Girls were disproportionately impacted by this, as a good number failed to return to school alongside increases in the reportage of violence and abuse, unplanned pregnancies and child marriages.

More than ever, this reveals the need to build resilience and inclusion into our education systems to ensure that we bridge education and skills gaps as we strive to leave no one behind.

By partnering with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Read and Earn Federation, ABE is contributing immensely to the promotion of education in Nigeria. Programmed to run for ten years, the digital entrepreneurial skills course aims to reach around 120,000 Nigerian youths each year. Digital tools are thus helping to promote collaboration, create access to a greater variety of resources, tailor the learning experience, and overall transform the future of education.

Young girls of middle and high-school age, who are at risk of dropping out of school are also being supported through scholarships and grants to help them kick-start their own businesses. Upon graduation, they will go on to contribute positively to their communities and various development landscapes.

At the heart of ABE’s work is a drive to provide inclusive, high-quality business education and skills, to produce entrepreneurs who can compete globally and transform their local communities. As ABE commemorates their fiftieth anniversary, this Special Edition highlights a long and distinguished history of bridging skills gaps, especially for those who are furthest behind.